Filling In The Blanks
by zestychicken2
Summary: The world he knew was gone forever. Only faint memories of the past opened his future. He didn't know why, but he was the key to winning this war... They called him a "dreamer", and he would help the rebellion rise against the dark forces of Kuja to win back their freedom. Only, he never thought this job involved falling in love with the most unexpected of rebels... ZidanexDagger
1. Prologue: A Fleeting Escape

**Filling In The Blanks**

**"The people have a right to know the truth." The only people who can help Gaia in the war against evil? The rebellion. And who leads it? Someone Zidane never thought he'd fall in love with. ZxD**

**A/N: Okay... This is my first Final Fantasy 9 story, so bear with me!! I'd like to take this chance to say that this is a very Alternate Universe story, and any questions that pop up will be answered. If not - feel free to let me know. Also, for everyone who's played the game or knows about it, Terra will not be it's own world - but a city state up by Esto Gaza in the sky, so it's floating and out of the way. Trust me, you'll understand soon enough.**

**Also things will slightly be altered as well. Such as the Black Mage Village - is not a village of black mages at this time. Oeilvert won't be completely abandon and such, but inhabited by people, and the Elemental Shrines may or may not serve a purpose, but I'll let you know what they stand for if I ever get there. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9, otherwise I would totally remake it with voices and it would be awesome.**

**Quick Random Thought: I love drawing maps.**

**Prologue: A Fleeting Escape**

Shadows grew longer and more ominous as the silhouetted figures hurried along the deserted and seemingly eerie hallways.

"Mommy, where are we going?" The voice was in a knowingly quiet manner, but confused nevertheless.

There was no answer from the woman the little girl clung to. Her dark eyes stared up at the worried face in confusion. She had no idea what was going on.

Lights had flickered on in her room, and as her eyes fluttered open, she saw three or four people putting select things in a bag, and humming voices she was too groggy to be able to understand. As soon as she was lifted out of bed by her worried and cautious mother, she knew something was wrong and that she mustn't complain. But she couldn't help but allow the question to slip.

Rumbles from outside tore through the walls, making echoing noises as it bounced off of stones, piercing the silence like a whip.

The young girl's lips quivered as a set of salty tears began to roll down her cheeks. She had to constantly remind herself to stay silent, but the fear and tension pushing down on her made it almost painful.

Finally, turning down yet another cold, grey-stoned corridor, it opened up into the blackened night, illuminated only by notorious explosions of light coming from the rest of the city. The castle had been the only place not yet attacked, but even at her age of four, she knew it would come.

The air was cold, and as her mother put her down on the ground, her black shoes tapping slightly on the marble stone, the older woman pulled her cloak around her daughter tighter, buttoning it and pulling the hood over raven black hair. Letting a half hearted smile onto her face, she wiped the tears away with her thumb.

"Don't cry my love, this will be over soon." She kissed the girl's forehead, and picked her up again.

There were suddenly loud voices from behind them, and all four of them whipped their heads in the direction of their passage to the night.

"They have to be close!" A rough, male voice called out in a snarl, his armor clattering together as he jogged through the hall.

With a new sense of determination, the woman handed the four year old girl off and smiled at the man in front of her. "You know what to do..." She whispered. "Keep her secret, and keep her safe... Protect her as though you would protect me..."

The man's armor clattered as he picked his feet off the ground and stomped hard to stand at a full attention straight, and he saluted, looking more professional than she had ever seen him before.

Smiling again, she hugged the small girl and the man, and then turned towards the young woman. "You are of high skill. I know this wasn't part of the plan, but I wish for you to accompany them."

The chestnut brown hair of the girl flew back with the harsh wind, as her murky walnut eyes widened sufficiently. "But -"

"Please... I want the best for my daughter; I _need_ you to protect her." Tears formed in the girl's eyes as she saluted the woman, making a lot less noise than the man. The woman merely hugged her, until a pack of about ten men spewed out of the hall.

"There they are!" The same one who had called out before was in front, "get them!" he cried.

The three hustled to the boat, as the woman stayed behind, conjuring a fire spell before her, setting only one of the men on fire before multiple knights came out of doors hidden by the disguise of darkness to aid her. Glancing backwards, she saw the girl standing on the end of the boat, her hood pushed off of her head, black hair blowing in the wind.

Her dark eyes gleamed with tears that were shown clearly by the fire licking the sky, acting as a lantern somewhere near the boat.

"Be safe..." Were the last words carried on the wind to her daughter, who fell backwards with the force of the sobs wracking her small frame.

??

**A/N: Well that was just the prologue... So I hope you liked it :D Please review and tell me what you think! I need your motivation to keep going! AND even though this is a short chapter, it'll get longer - promise!  
**

**Hope to hear from everyone!! I'll update every 5 days too! :D**

**-zesty-**


	2. Chapter 1: A Perfect Reality

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: This chapter will prove to be pretty interesting as well :D But it'll raise a lot of questions - I'm just warning you.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9. Maybe a character or two, but no one as cool as all these guys/girls!**

**Quick Random Thought: Nothing like staying up late to write FF9 :P**

**Chapter 1: A Perfect Reality**

_Cerulean eyes glanced over to the redhead grinning at his kill._

_"Who knew this job could potentially mean action?" The redhead looked up and smirked at him._

_The blonde grinned back. He couldn't stop grinning despite the odd feeling inside of him. He knew it was him - but younger, if only by a little bit. And he had no idea who this person was, but it felt so real... Like it had happened before. _

_"It's weird..." He blurted out before he could stop himself. But even realizing that he was talking to this stranger as though they were old friends, he kept speaking, "Who knew that Baku could pick something fun for us?"_

_"I thought this was supposed to be punishment!" The redhead laughed, his green eyes dancing slightly in the golden sun._

_"Apparently, he favors us much more than Marcus and Cinna..." He joked, grinning mischievously, walking over to where the shorter one stood._

_They watched the creature begin to disintegrate in the sun, as though there were no trace of it ever being there. To everyone else, the sun was a beautiful thing. It gave hope in those times of despair where it seemed as though nothing in the world would go right. But to the evil creatures stalking around in the night, catching their victims off guard and murdering them without so much as a sound, it was a terrible thing._

_It was a dangerous business being out in the night, and they knew they had to be getting back soon, or else they would be in trouble themselves for no one would come out to search. They couldn't - no one was allowed to leave, no matter the circumstances._

_"Blank..." The blonde started, his blue eyes curious with the twinkling sun._

_"Yeah, Man?" The redhead spoke, sheathing his dagger in its place before turning to face him._

_"How long do we have until it gets dark?" He questioned, his eyes darting in a few different directions; because of this, Blank cocked an eyebrow._

_"I don't know... Maybe a half an hour," he shrugged nonchalant and turned to see just what his best friend was talking about, "why? What's going on?"_

_With a shaky hand, the young teenager pointed at a threat far greater than the one they just faced. "This shouldn't be punishment if it's way out of our league..." The tone was scared and much different than it had been a few moments ago - or any time the redhead had ever heard his partner speak._

_In the shadows of the alley, silver glimmering eyes seemingly glared right at them, as though they'd be the next prey. Not fully understanding the feeling, the blonde shivered._

_"Zidane... They won't come at us in the light. We need to hurry..." His friend murmured taking a step backwards._

_"It's a forty-five minute sprint from here. We've gone too far off of our mark," he bit his lip, making an unconscious decision. "Blank I want you to go..." He muttered, out of the enemy's ear shot._

_"What?" Blank gasped, turning and all the while stumbling to stare at Zidane, "Are you crazy? He or it or she or something will kill you!"_

_He shook his head, "It'll kill both of us if you don't go... See if you can get help. I'll lead him in a different direction."_

_"You're crazy..." The redhead whispered, horrified at such an idea. "You can't... Zidane, we need you back at -"_

_"You're wasting time!" He barked, now trying to be harsh to make him go._

_He realized it most likely wouldn't work, but as his best friend, it was his duty to try and lead this thing off, whatever it was. Even though, inside his head somewhere deep back, he knew this was a dream, it felt like the most real thing he had ever experienced._

_"Please..." He whispered, eyes gleaming with - what was that - moisture? "Go..."_

_"I'll bring someone back... I promise..." He mumbled, turning on his heels and dashing away, tripping but catching himself quickly again._

_Zidane took off in the other direction, slowly watching the sun set below the horizon. As the first rays of darkness hit the ground he was stepping on, he knew he was in trouble, hearing the beating of rapid footsteps on the thick stone. After what seemed like the quickest time of his life, he was attacked, as he and whatever his attacker was skidded across the hard and cold pavement, his mind went blank._

_??_

Shooting up in bed, Zidane found himself panting heavily, sweat dripping onto the blanket he was covered with. Glancing around the room, he shook his head clear of the weird thoughts he was having.

"What a dream..." He mumbled, dropping his head to his chest.

When he lifted it again, he looked at the glass of water spilt onto the wooden table next to his bed. Trailing the stream of water with his eyes, he notices it fell onto the papers on the ground. Groaning, he rolled out of his bed, and onto the floor to see what the damage was.

Shuffling around the soggy material, he noticed his script for the play downtown was completely ruined. Sighing and plopping completely to the floor, he wondered what his play would have turned out like. There was a contest at the local theater, for a new and original play to be preformed. There was a one-hundred gil entry fee, which Zidane had already paid, and high hopes for the person who won.

His original idea, along with his raw talent for acting, had been absolutely stunning, and coming from his friends and family, he figured there would definitely be a possible chance of him winning. Shaking his head, he knew it was too good to be true.

After the sudden rush of emotions and curses coming from the water, the reason this had happened in the first place floated back into his mind. The dream...

It had felt so real, and he was almost sure that had happened before...

"But that's impossible!" he chuckled to himself, shaking his head, "there's no way that could have happened. I've been living in the same spot almost my whole life, and nothing like that has ever happened to me..." Rolling his eyes, he forced himself up, and walked into the bathroom.

When he looked in the mirror though, he hadn't been looking at someone he thought he knew. Azure eyes were bloodshot and puffy, skin pale and flushed, and clothes rumbled. His hair was an absolute mess, and he looked nothing close to his normally charming self that flashed smiles of pearly white teeth at girls to melt them into a puddle.

"I look like shit..." He mumbled, turning his back on the image before him, and walking towards the windows in his living room.

His eyes scanned the luscious grass that swayed in the wind of a clear blue sky with the sun's golden rays shining down on the flowers that dotted the area. So his neighbors took better care of their yards, with accessories and one even had a fountain, than he, but it didn't matter much to him. He had never been a gardening type. But the scenery wasn't what caught his eye that morning.

Throwing open the door and grinning ear to ear, he shouted, "Hey, Eli!"

A girl with wavy blonde hair bunched up into a braided bun turned around. Her eyes were a brilliant green, and her lips shined far greater than any ruby. Her name was Elouise Kindle. She was a strong leader on her own, with a quick wit and an even quicker temper. Although she had a sweet and caring side to her, what showed through in her personality was the great determination in bettering people's situations around her.

"Zidane!" She walked over looking professional, but he knew better; she was excited to see him awake before three in the afternoon. "What are you doing awake so early? You look awful!" Leave it to Elouise to be extremely blunt.

Zidane scratched his neck nervously, "I had another one of those weird dreams..."

"For God's sake Zidane, not again!" She began to walk with him, and he knew to follow considering she always took him to get food in his system before the start of his long day.

"I don't know why..." He sighed slightly glum, "they're more frequent now than they ever have been... It's so weird - they feel so real."

"They aren't obviously real though; you know that, don't you?" She questioned, skeptical of what exactly he believed.

"Of course... I don't..." He turned away, his eyes setting downcast, eyelashes casting a shadow over the brilliance in his irises.

"Alright..." Elouise turned, knowing quite well that he was reluctant. She didn't know what he was going through, so she couldn't say quite for sure, "Let's go get some breakfast." She smiled and took his hand, pulling him down the street of Alexandria.

Despite the large size of the castle, and the town that surrounded it, there weren't as many people as you would expect there. The only truly busy place, where one would have to wait in order to move would be the central part of the city - the market.

Colored signs for inns and candy shops, and flower shops were all over, with people and set up booths. Children played in the streets merrily, and parents talked as they watched their child have fun. People snuck around in the corners, picking up spare gil off the streets, and even black mages stood perfectly still in random dotted (or so they thought) areas, partially out of the way.

A small Bermecian girl with lavender hair in two pony tails played with a hippo doll on the ground, smiling and mouthing words to herself. That's when a young boy ran around her in circles, snatching up the doll and dashing away with it, laughing all the while. The girl jumped up, easily landing on her feet and darted after him, gaining speed as she weaved around people, compared to him slowing down.

"Onions! Five onions for five gil! The best quality!" A man at a red, slightly discolored booth waved the round vegetable in the air.

"Get your gysahl greens here! Great for beginners of chocobo tracking! The sale today is 18 gil a bushel!" An old woman with four arms and flowing red hair held out several bushels of the plant, smiling with her crimson lips curling upwards.

The woman's voice was drown out by the clanking of short, wooden swords in front of her stand, as two boys laughed and hit them against each other, pretending to be in a world not of their own. Until an older man, who looked quite like one of the boys with shaggy brown hair, and even browner eyes picked one up, the two of them laughing, and patting the other boy on his head.

Zidane couldn't help but smile as he was dragged through the crowd, and up onto the side of the fountain, looking over the heads of hippos, Bermecians, humans, elves, gnomes, giant dogs, bears, and other peculiar creatures who had come to adapt to the ways of a kingdom such as that. He loved the city he had grown up in, and he had not wanted to go anywhere else, unless it was somewhere that could get him a better head start in an acting career.

But he knew that most likely wouldn't happen for a while. He needed to get some gil before he began his plans to set out for Lindblum, and on top of that, had to go through the hassle of getting their ruler, Kuja, to agree with it. He shook the thought quickly out of his head. It was rare that once someone was in a city, that they could ever leave, unless it was migration to a larger one. No way would he let a stupid kid of only seventeen go to the great city of Lindblum.

Glancing forward, his eyes locked on the back of Elouise, who was chatting to someone at a booth. He tilted his head to the side, examining her slightly pale skin. She was beautiful - almost everyone that they knew thought so.

"Then again..." Zidane mumbled to himself, knowing quite well his voice wouldn't be heard above all the chatter. "Everyone thinks Eli and I should be together..." He looked at the girl thoughtfully again, a slight blush coming to his cheeks.

To think of himself with Elouise Kindle was crazy. She was more a sister to him, and a best friend, than she was anything else. Of course the thought had floated across his mind, when he was thinking of quitting his dreams, opening a supply store, settling down, and having a few kids. But Elouise wouldn't want him to do that, and he didn't want to stick her in that position either.

"Come on Zidane!" She smiled, throwing him a freshly grown apple from the stand, Elouise's last pit stop, "Our breakfast awaits us!"

He smirked at her, and ran trying to catch up, swinging off of things, being absolutely crazy, because he was happy. He knew that no matter the choices that came along, he'd still have his life, and his friends... He'd know everyone and everything forever, and that didn't upset him.

His life was perfect...

At this point though, the dream swept briefly through his mind again. He couldn't remember it as vividly as he did in the earlier morning, but he did know that perhaps from the feeling he was getting...

This reality was too perfect?

??

**A/N: Okay! I know these chapters don't really tell you a lot, but they are important :D I hope you enjoyed, and please REVIEW! Thanks so much!**

**-zesty-**


	3. Chapter 2: Best of the Best

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: This chapter is going to be great! I'm really excited to write it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9. Though I wish I did, I don't own anything...**

**Quick Random Thought: This A/N, Disclaimer, and QRT are really short. That's how excited I am for this chapter!**

**Chapter 2: Best of the Best**

"Five... Please..." He cracked a sheepish smiling, knowing quite well the person would give him a weird look. "It's in case of emergencies!"

Reluctantly, the store owner set five potions on to the counter for the blonde to take. He nodded his thanks and hopped out of the creaky, old store.

"I hate that place... Thanks for getting them for me!" The girl smiled at him, taking her potions and putting them into her leather bag.

"You owe me big time, Elouise... Just those five potions added up to two hundred and fifty gil!" Zidane scolded his best friend. Her pink blouse blew slightly in the breeze as she shrugged, her light hair falling more and more from its position in the bun.

"Yeah... I know I do, but that's why I buy you breakfast!" She laughed and turned on her heels, the laces of her matching pink shoes hitting the ground with no noise. The black shorts she wore didn't even reach her knees, which Zidane couldn't understand.

The strong wind of the day shot bits of sand like pistols through the air, making almost everyone complain. But not Elouise... She didn't care if her legs were so scratched they bled by the end of the day. She simply pranced down the street with pride, knowing exactly where she was going.

He really admired that about the girl. He needed some sort of assistance in just what to do with no lively events going on in the city, or no mischief to take place in... Something Elouise was quite good at.

"You know..." The girl said, whipping around so the wind blew her hair forward into her shimmering emerald eyes, "we could ditch our original place, and go hang out at Libby's... I'm sure Avalanch, Griffin, and Vienna are there. They love it there."

"Hey, if you'd like to go to Libby's that totally works... It's quieter there!" He grinned as he stood in front of her, wavering slightly from the force of the wind.

"Let's do that then... It's cheaper as well!" Elouise laughed as she waltzed off with grace, excited to see their other friends.

Zidane shook his head. The three others, plus the two of them were a perfect wrecking crew. He smiled at the thought of them living happily ever after, enjoying what time they had together, and who knew... Maybe Griffin and Vienna would end up together.

They were the kind of people who fought all the time, and absolutely hated each other, but at the end of the day they smiled at each other like nothing had happened at all. While Elouise was his best friend, his greatest guy friend was Griffin. Just as Vienna was Elouise's second runner up, Griffon and Zidane were as close as people could get.

As they walked into the café each of them scanned the area for their three friends. The place was small with wood all over and dim lights with old posters and newspaper clippings on the walls so that people got a feel of what used to be. Although some claimed the articles weren't accurate, they looked exactly as the ones did now... And that's something everyone knew - no one changed the style of the newspaper.

There were a few healthy green plants around the tables to give people the privacy they needed. This was a good place to go... It was one of the only places that didn't have the smell of the black mages. Libby, the owner of the shop (thus the name), hadn't allowed them in, considering they took the precious coffee, and never drank it. She thought it was ridiculous, and someone actually came out to talk to her about it. But she had held her ground.

She was lucky, Zidane figured. If she had been any ruder to the officials with a brain coming in, she could have been killed. They didn't normally intrude on the every day lives of the citizens of Alexandria, but when things like that erupted, they normally put that person in their place. Everyone thought it was good though - they needed a place the mages didn't linger.

"There!" She tugged at his hand, and yanked him over to a table, plopping him in a chair, creating an 'oof' sound, escaping his mouth before he could stop it.

"Hiya guys!" Vienna smiled, taking another sip of her coffee in the small glass.

Vienna was extremely pretty. She was a Bermecian that had blue tinted skin and white long hair that was held up in a pony tail, only wisps of hair framing her face. She was tall and thin, with shining aquamarine eyes that matched the black shorts and tank top she wore under a lavender jacket reaching her knees. Her personality was quiet, but bubbly around people she knew, and she was a lot more carefree than most people would expect. Her caring side mixed with her large temper creating a sort of funny moment.

"Hello Vienna..." Zidane started, sounding as though he wasn't up to something, "I see you and Griffon aren't fighting today," already he was slugged in the arm by Elouise who sent him a death glare to the next level, and Griffon who kicked him under the table.

Although, what made it worth it, was the rare blush on a Bermecian's face when she was embarrassed, not to mention a tough guy like Griffon having a soft spot.

Griffon was tall and mysterious with chocolate brown to black hair, and stormy grey eyes. Although he wasn't taller than Vienna, he acted more mature than even Elouise sometimes, taking a leadership roll when needed, otherwise sinking into the shadows. He had a joking side about him, but was absolutely fair and appropriate when it came to dealing with ladies. He was a charmer, like Zidane himself, only a little older, and far milder. His temper fuse was quite long, and he showed fear only when dealing with angry women.

"Go pick on Avalanch for once, would you?" Griffon mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest, and lowering his head so no one could see his face.

"I would -" Zidane paused dramatically for a moment, "But then I think that there's nothing to make fun of Avalanch for!"

"Avalanch is an elf... There's absolutely nothing wrong with them..." Elouise glared, sticking up for her friend.

Avalanch was part of an ancient civilization that became scattered over the years - the Woodland Elves. They all generally looked the same with the same watery eyes, and creamy hair. Majestic, beautiful, and proud were in every elve's nature, and he was no acceptations. His hair was long - almost half way down his back, normally pulled up at the sides to show off his pointed ears. His skin was pale, and his eyes were an ocean blue, coming with a vision that could spot every particle of dust on even a white surface. He was tall and fast, with swift movements and stunning reflexes. He was quiet and didn't say a lot about anything, but he did laugh and joke when opportunity showed itself.

"There's their freaky ears..." Griffon joked, his head now back up, as though Zidane had said nothing.

Avalanch raised an eyebrow, and moved his head just right so his ear was purposely sticking out in Griffon's direction, "You said something Griffon? I couldn't hear you." He smirked, letting everyone but the brunette he was staring at in on the joke.

Griffon shifted uncomfortably, as though the piercing gaze he was receiving was extremely scary. Vienna ruined the joke with an unsuccessfully stifled giggle, which let itself out before she could help it. The human visibly relaxed and let out a breath no one knew he was holding.

"You can't do that!" He commented, rather bewildered, "It scares a person to death, Avalanch. You can't tell if you're joking or not, even if you're smiling!"

"You'll get over it."

"I don't know Elouise, he seems like he could be scarred for life..."

"Oh Zidane... So immature."

"_I'm_ immature! Vienna, did you hear what she just called me?" He fake whined, glaring at nothingness in the air; no one could help but chuckle.

"You're so cute!" Elouise leaned over the table and smiled at him slightly seductive, her face darker in the dulled lighting.

Zidane could only laugh at the dumbfounded expressions plastered to the others' faces. They still couldn't believe Elouise had the guts to flirt with him, knowing he could very well take that chance to flirt with her back and never leave her alone. But he had always been in on the joke, which was why it never surprised him and he always had to chortle.

"It's amazing that we still even surprise Avalanch!"

"I thought there was nothing about Avalanch to make fun of!" Griffon came to his friend's moral aid, which received a glare from the blonde.

"Don't side with others! It's not nice!" he sighed, knowing he had been defeated when everyone raised an eyebrow at his hypocritical statement.

"Hey, Zidane?" Vienna asked, the look on her face showing she just remembered something.

"Yes Vien?" He questioned back, flashing her a smile.

"How is your play going?" She wondered, her eyes glimmering with excitement, despite the crappy amount of candles illuminating the place.

"Oh... That..." He sighed slightly depressed, and stared down at his drink he had just received from the waitress. "That's not going very good anymore..."

"What?" Griffon asked, suddenly interested in his friends random change of heart, "But it was excellent! A genius couldn't have come up with it! You're a master of play writing!"

"That's the thing... So, you all know I'm kind of a crazy sleeper... Well, that seemed to take over -" he stole a glance at Elouise to make sure she wouldn't say anything - he knew she knew it was about the dream, "and I knocked a glass of water over onto it."

"Ohhh! That's horrible! Zidane you already paid and everything! That entry fee was a really large amount of gil! You should really start it up again! You'd be able to remember!" Vienna's eyes widened with sympathy for him as her mind processed the information the quickest.

"Nah, it's cool. I know it wouldn't get me anywhere anyways... Alexandria isn't exactly known for its theaters, and it's not like I would ever go to Lindblum..."

"You never know..." Avalanch threw his opinion in as well, "You know some people go. My mother just went last week saying it would be better for gil and that she'd send some back for us every once and a while. She was really struggling."

"Lord Kuja often lets people struggling or people who win things go... It's pretty easy actually, and I bet if you won, you could go!"

"What about you guys?" He asked, his tone quieted down as he saw the waitress look up, signaling she was eavesdropping.

It was something Zidane had always been good at. He had the natural skill for getting in and out of trouble without being noticed and knowing just when people were paying attention to things that should sink in with the shadows. For instance, just then that waitress shouldn't have been eavesdropping, because his friends should have been camouflaged by being just a few more customers.

Glaring, he stood and walked up to the counter, surprisingly enough not catching her attention. Rather clankily, he dropped his glass on the wood, making the girl wearing a smidge too much make up jump in fright.

"Refill please... My table hasn't been being waited on..." He nodded as she refilled his glass, dejected the conversation had stopped momentarily.

When he returned to his seat, he explained why he had just randomly gotten up in a hushed tone, and repeated his earlier question, saying he hadn't heard the answer in fear of the waitress getting the wrong impression when they spoke of Kuja.

"We would eventually make it to you, Zidane..." Elouise nodded, determination dancing across her soft features, "God knows we wouldn't let you have all the fun!"

"We'd be your casting crew..." Avalanch threw in with a fond smile and a sharp nod. It was contrasting, but Zidane was touched.

"Thanks guys. I knew I could count on you until the very end!" He glanced up at the waitress again straining to listen. "Some people just don't learn their lesson huh? I'm going to go..." He stood from his chair, "see you all later... Elouise - stop by, my neighbor gave me some more tomato seeds, I would love to have you plant."

"Of course!"

"Vienna... They also gave me some beads to give to you... And Avalanch, for you too... It pays to live next to the mail person from outer city, huh?"

"What about me?" Griffon whined slightly - something very rare unless he was in a very teasing mood.

"Nothing for you Griffon, you aren't special enough..." Zidane stood and smirked before shrugging a jacket on to protect him from the wind, and walking out.

??

He hadn't realized how long of a walk it was home, and he was beginning to feel drowsy. Maybe it would have been better to go with Elouise, just so she wouldn't get lost or anything on her way. Zidane then figured Avalanch would walk her home, depending on how good of terms Vienna and Griffon were on.

Stepping onto the main market street, which was positively dead at night, contrasting with the bustle of the sunny days, echoes in an alley stopped him. He walked closer, before seeing a peculiar black mage in striped pants, blue and white coat, and a slightly old tan hat was being harassed by some larger dog like creatures, and a human.

Narrowing his eyes, he walked closer.

"What kind of black mage can _talk?" _They pushed the short mage backwards, the poor guy stumbling on his own feet, and falling to the ground.

One of the dogs snatched up whatever the mage was holding. Something Zidane couldn't see in the dark.

"I - I... I'm not like - th..." The small mage stuttered, his glowing yellow eyes wide with a scared light to them.

"You're not like _what?_" A large, dark, dog spat, "Not like _them_ without their brains. A shrimp like you wondering around with stones like _that_ don't have a brain either!"

"I think you should leave him alone..." Zidane's voice was extremely low and ominous, and it made the mage look up curiously at the stranger standing a few yards away, as the dogs and human turn around.

The human stepped forward as though he wanted to say something, but sized Zidane and his attitude up. After doing so, he huffed and turned, walking away with his gang.

The blonde jogged over and picked up the small ripped open package while the mage pushed himself to his feet. Looking down with a smile, he held out the package, "You okay?" he questioned cautiously.

"Y - Yeah..." The short little guy stuttered, "T - Thanks!"

"You shouldn't be out at night like this with idiots like that out there... You live around here?"

"The other side of Alexandria..." He noticed the glowing bright eyes couldn't look at him. They were always focused on the stone below them.

"Well..." Zidane fished a large sum of gil out of his pocket, and put it on top of the package in a pouch, "take that and stay at an inn. You'll get lost..."

"T - Thanks..." He stuttered again.

Zidane smiled and turned around, happy to help someone who seemed to be so nice. It was peculiar though, as no one usually saw mages that talked or even acknowledged another's presence.

??

_"Kuja's forces are spreading, and we need to be quick if we want to stop them from over taking Madain Sari."_

_"That is one important place..." A redhead muttered, looking up._

_"Are we going to get to go there?" The blonde found himself saying, a prick of excitement poking inside of him, trying to burst out._

_"Near there at least..." The fat guy in front of them scratched his beard with a gloved hand. "To a place called Conde Petie. It isn't the largest place ever, but it has an inn, and people who can hide you out before making your way down to Kuja's troop of black mages to stop them."_

_"Are you sure you know what you're talking about, Baku?" Someone from behind the blonde questioned._

_"Of course he does."_

_"I wasn't asking you _Blank_!" Sapphire eyes glanced as far left as they could go, before he turned his head to see the masked tall guy smirking at the redhead._

_"Of course you weren't, Marcus..." He rolled his eyes and turned to the blonde who had stayed quiet, "What about you Zidane? Back me up!"_

_"I know Baku knows what he's doing... He's not a complete idiot..." Smirking, Zidane found himself talking in this strange wooden place that creaked slightly as though it were suspended in the air._

_"We're lucky..." Their fat leader known as Baku coughed to get their attention back; the blonde found himself extremely interested in what he had to say. "That Regent Cid could supply us with an airship to get over here... It's amazing that he still can keep up with his airship building and be with the resistance..."_

_"More about Madain Sari please!" Zidane bounced in his chair slightly, "I want to go to the village of summoners, and get there soon. Didn't you just tell us that Kuja's forces would be up there soon?"_

_"Well yeah but -"_

_"Zidane just wants to kill some of those bastards, right Zidane?" The redhead known as Blank laughed and ruffled his hair._

_Zidane growled and threw his sheathed dagger at his best friend. They all began to laugh and tackle each other down, Baku face planting and then joining them just to split it up. In the end, it didn't exactly work, as they all began a fake war between each other, before they could face the real glooms of war right under their noses..._

_??_

Zidane woke up chuckling this time, his breath completely left from his lungs. He looked around his darkened room and realized it was just another dream.

Pain rippled through his chest. He was slightly disappointed this time... It was so real... And... _Nice_, which was something completely unexpected, as though he'd enjoy that life. But it didn't make sense once again. The same guy from the last dream, and he was there. They were in a different place, and there were more people, and on top of that... Kuja? They were going to attack the black mages? Why would they do that?

Zidane bit his lip, wondering what exactly was going to happen with his mind, if subconsciously, he was thinking about the destruction of their leader.

??

**A/N: Well... I liked that chapter :) It was really fun to write and such too! Lol, I look forward to hearing everyone's opinions on it anyways!! And I apologize if anyone needs to complain about the length, it wasn't originally going to be so big, but... I couldn't exactly stop anywhere.**

**The next chapter is really interesting! Stay tuned!**

**-zesty-**


	4. Chapter 3: More Than Slightly Confused

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: Things will start happening in this chapter if you already didn't find the story interesting. You'll rather enjoy this one then :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9, I know I say that all the time, but dammit it's true and depressing!**

**Quick Random Thought: Four days of school left yay!**

**Chapter 3: More Than Slightly Confused**

"_Let me be yours forever....... I'll wait for you until the end..... Don't leave me.... Come back in the late hours of night, we'll run together..... Tis a new day of hope, Cornelia....." _He hovered over the play, his eyes scanning the pages just once more before he was finally ready to submit.

It had taken a while, but he reworked the play just to his dream he had had last night. He didn't know where it came from, but it was absolutely stunning, and he knew that there was an even bigger chance he would win with this play. He stopped for a moment, to recollect the night before, just before he got up at about three a.m. and began to write and write, until he finally got done. It had been a sum of ten hours, but he had managed to get it all down. It was amazing the dream had played out the whole thing.

??

_"Blank, is this going to be boring?"_

_"Hell no... Trust me Zidane, this is going to put you in an absolute greatness for acting. After you see this, it's going to be your absolute dream!"_

_"You say absolute a lot..." He mumbled, bored out of his mind._

_They were in the grand theater of Lindblum and awaiting the beginning of a very famous play. Zidane hadn't seen it, but somehow he knew that in the back of his head somewhere, he would end up liking the monstrosity he was about to sit through. Shifting in his seat to get a better view over the man - at least he thought it was a man... Maybe an elf? - sitting in front of him._

_Huffing in defeat, he thudded his head against the cushioned seat a few times, before letting his eyes wander to the ceiling._

_Voices swirled around him, mixing together as his eyes unfocused when they reached the light source wavering far above. The place was a fine building, with ivory lining the walls, and marble columns all over. The stage was a deep mahogany wood, and the curtains were a vibrant red, but not so vibrant it was obnoxious._

_Everyone around him was classy and dressed up, while he and Blank were both in regular clothes. It didn't matter to them much as they had both paid to come see this play. Sighing, he forced his eyes to the stage as the lights dimmed, and tried to pulls his vision together._

_"Ladies and gentleman..." Someone began, their smile obvious even to those sitting a good hundred feet away from him. "I am pleased to present to you a love story of two lovers who try to be together with secrets, sacrifices, laughter, and tears in this tragic tale that many of you know and love... I present to you the best arts of... _I Want to Be Your Canary._"_

_Everyone clapped, and Zidane found the redhead next to him whistling, even if it was improper with these sorts of fine people around. As the curtains drew, and then reopened, the blonde sat straighter. The scenes in the background were painted - it must have been by a true artist - and the costumes were far more exquisite than imaginable._

_"My sweet, sweet Cornelia..." The man playing the main character, Marcus, stroked the pale cheek of the blonde girl next to him._

_"Marcus. You mustn't go..." She murmured, although still loud enough to let the audience hear as well._

_The setting was a stormy night in a small, secret, brick building where no one would find them. Sounds of rain rattled the silence of the auditorium, and water poured onto stage to create a more dramatic effect. Both of them were there, talking over these sounds in such a passionate way, that Zidane was almost lead to believe it._

_The more and more the play went on, the more and more he began to like it, and realized just exactly what he wanted to do with himself..._

_??_

"I'm really excited for you, Zidane!" Vienna bounced ahead. It was one of the rare times that, out in public, she wasn't quiet and shy. It must have been pretty huge, "You could become a star!" She smiled and looked back at everyone's slightly freaked out expressions.

"Probably not... But you never know!" Griffon smiled sheepishly, trying to get away with his negative remark.

"You're so optimistic..." Avalanch mumbled, smiling at the giggle he received from Elouise.

It was odd for her to laugh like that in such ease. Normally she tried to be bossy and kind all at the same time. Avalanch had that special effect on her. The blonde found it absolutely adorable, not to sound feminine, but he really liked that she was comfortable around him. He got this feeling that if he ever had to leave them, even if for a short amount of time, Avalanch would take care of her.

Smiling slightly, he decided to allow someone else to defend him for once, and stay with his own thoughts without ruining the moment with his voice.

"Well you know..." Elouise started, her eyes wondering to Zidane for just a moment, "You'll be crying like a baby if he _does_ win and doesn't share any reward with you. Not to mention to Lindblum and -"

"Stop!" Griffon chuckled, "don't put any unnecessary ideas in his brain, okay Eli?"

"Fine..." She scoffed playfully, "whatever you say," she huffed and walked ahead with her arms crossed, Vienna settling into a bouncy step next to her.

"Vienna, you're taking her side?" Griffon was absolutely bewildered; he was so naive.

"Well of course..." She rolled his eyes, "You're absolutely stupid if you think I'm going to side with you against Zidane. He hasn't been mean all day!" She smiled lightly at him, and turned back around, calming down a bit more.

As they walked down the sunny streets of Alexandria, people bustling about them, Zidane wondered just how good he would do. Glancing up at the royal blue sky, as annoying tree frogs made that almost _ringing _sound in the distance, still managing to be heard over all the people, the blonde closed his eyes. He felt dizzy suddenly, and when he reopened them, the world spun before him.

Groaning and placing his palms over his watery eyes, he squeezes them shut, feeling his eyelashes press against his gloves. When he reopened them, he saw the sky coming into his view, and he felt himself fall towards the ground with an awful hard smack.

And then, as blackness blotched his vision, the colors dripped from his world, and the entire chunk of what he was thinking slipped away beyond his reach as everything about him slid into a black, never ending void.

??

_"Kuja shan't be defied!" Someone in a helmet growled at them._

_The woman stepped backwards, her long hair sweeping against her son's head. Her blue eyes were so wide with fear, it was amazing they didn't drop out of her head. Her long pale arm gripped the young one's shoulder fearfully. Her son with the same blonde hair and blue eyes blinked, confused, and far less scared than he should be._

_"Please..." The man in front of the two tried to wager their freedom, "we've done nothing! I can promise you... But if you must take me... Leave my wife and son. She had nothing to do with it, and he - he's a mere boy - only three years of -"_

_"Lies!" Taking his metallic sword, he shoved it through the blonde man's stomach, causing a blood flow through the mouth, and spat onto the soldier's hand._

_In disgust, he yanked out the sharp metal, allowing the now limp body to the floor. Screaming, his wife dropped down, tears streaming down her face as she hugged his head. His blood smeared face caused the young child to look up in fear. The soldier advanced on his mother in a stalking way. Now that the man was gone, there was no reason to keep his family around._

_"Mommy!" He cried out, yanking her arm._

_"Zidane! Run!" Looking up in the last moment, she cast a protect spell on Zidane before being hit down, a bloody heap on the ground after the soldier took out his rage on her soft body._

_Stabbing her once more, he advanced on Zidane, but his eyes flashed in anger. He stumbled backwards, almost all fear evaporating from him as he saw both of his parents dead on the ground... Just like that. Tears rolled down his cheeks as the horror struck, and he began to feel dizzy with sick. The fear was gone, but the haunting of those images would never leave him so long as he lived._

_Dropping to the ground his eyes fluttered shut, and no pain came to him. Too exhausted to reopen his eyes, he allowed himself to be reeled into the darkness._

_"Zidane!" What a voice... So beautiful. Like an angel._

_"Zidane! Please wake up!" That one sounded beautiful too. One of another race, and gorgeous at that. He could tell she was caring just by her voice. "Zidane!" There was a sob that came through._

_He wrinkled his nose... Something that sounded so beautiful shouldn't have been crying..._

_"Zidane you dumb ass!" That voice did it; he would get up and show these people a piece of his mind._

_??_

With eyes that were groggy with confusion, they came into focus slowly. When he managed to make out the moving shapes in front of him, he jumped up immediately, grabbing the closest thing to him and flinging it around.

"Zidane! What are you doing?" It was a Bermecian girl who spoke.

He snarled, "Who the hell are you?!" The thing in his hand ended up being an unfortunate candle that got snuffed out, and squeezed so hard it was now unusable. He flung it in their direction with such force, it indented at the speed it hit the wall.

"What are you talking about, Man?" A human brunette stepped forward, hands up in defense, "its Grif, Eli, Vien, and Avalanch!" Flinching at the ominous growl he received from the blonde, Elouise stepped forward, rage flaring on her petite features.

"Zidane Tribal, you get your dumb ass off the god damn bed and stop harassing candles!" She hissed, but boomed at the same time; it was a scary combo." She put her hands up in defense, signaling she wasn't going to hurt him, "its Elouise Kindle! Do you not remember me?"

Zidane dropped onto the bed, curling slightly, his head dizzy again. He looked back up at her with a tired and scared expression on his face. With his vision slightly blurred, and in a small voice, he muttered, "Elouise?"

She dropped her hands immediately and hugged him. She was so scared she had lost him to something. Whatever was going on with him, it wasn't doing him any good now, and she just wanted to be there for him however she could.

The images from Zidane's dream though, stopped him from being confused. He was horrified as he came back to his senses. Teetering between reality and nightmares, he looked at everyone in the room, "What happened?"

"We were on our way to submit your play... Since you finished it..." Avalanch explained, staying completely calm in the whole situation.

"And?" Zidane breathed, scared to hear the answer; whatever was happening he didn't want to hear about it.

"You passed out... We tried to bring you back..." He mumbled, and Vienna took his spot in explaining.

"It was like you were having a seizure when you fell... Griffon picked you up and you struggled a lot... When we finally got you back, you were in a cold sweat, and we were worried... Your temperature was steaming, and we thought you might..." She trailed, looking down.

"What happened to you, Zidane?" Elouise whispered, and for the first time in his life, Zidane saw the tears building up in her emerald eyes.

"I don't know..." He murmured softly to her, hugging her again. He needed her support just as much as she needed his.

"We're glad you woke up... You'd been moaning and groaning in your sleep, flipping all over the place like a fish out of water..." Griffon was only trying to make the mood lighter, but everyone guessed from the other glares he received it wasn't working.

_Thanks_ Zidane mouthed to him, and pulled back from Elouise.

The blonde girl turned to their friends, "I think we should let him get some rest now that that is over... We'll figure out what's the matter..."

They all nodded in agreement, and after a pat on the back from the boys, and a quick hug from Vienna, they ventured out. Elouise was about to follow when he beckoned her back inside.

"It was a dream again, wasn't it Zidane?" She whispered, more concerned now, and paying more than petty attention to what she thought was a childish fear.

"I'll be okay, Eli..." He smiled slightly, and stood up, taking her hands and putting them to his hot cheek; they were like ice.

"You've got to promise me something Zidane..." Her voice turned almost shy as she looked away.

He figured she was probably scared. Looking around his boring white carpeted, maroon walled living room with a brick fireplace, and some random dotted furniture with pictures of his family and friends scattered about along with all the messily organized papers, he nodded.

"No matter what happens, you're going to stay with me?" Her eyes were wide with question.

"Of course..." He smiled as best he could muster. "I promise..."

A breath she didn't know she was holding was released, and she squeezed his hand, "I'll come back later?"

"Of course, anytime. I probably won't be able to sleep again. Maybe I'll eat. There has to be some food in this house..." His try to lighten the mood worked, and Elouise hugged him in a bone-crushing hug before she walked out, shutting the door gently behind her.

Trying to stifle a yawn, Zidane decided maybe a little more sleep wouldn't kill him. Jumping onto the bed, using his tail for support as he leaned, he clicked off the light and settled into the blankets nestled around him.

Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to be pulled into the haze of a dream of normal things. Elouise and Vienna, Griffon and Avalanch, and himself in a place of Lindblum, the only strange part, with his friends, and his quest to becoming an actor being fulfilled...

??

**A/N: Yay! I liked this chapter too... It was weird, and kind of difficult to write, but I got it done okay I hope! :D Please **_**review!!!**_** I know that's not a lot to ask people :D Please! I'm begging you.**

**I'll update soon, and thanks so very much to everyone who reads!**

**-zesty-**


	5. Chapter 4: A New World

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: Okay... This is where disarray starts, so stay with me here people... All will be explained in the next two chapters!! I apologize that I was a day late. I had plans for the Fourth, Fifth, and half of the six O.o  
**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned, but I don't. Sigh. What a depressing thing to put at the **_**beginning**_** of every chapter!**

**Quick Random Thought: Last day of school tomorrow!! (That was a long time ago :/)  
**

**Chapter 4: A New World?**

Zidane shook violently from the cold, as though his body had been numb from it for some time. Whipping his head to the side, he tried to make himself comfortable.

For some reason that night, he simply couldn't, and that irritated him to no extent. Of course he wasn't awake, he just - knew... Almost like a half sleep.

And then it hit him...

Shooting straight up in bed, he looked around wildly, trying in vain to locate some sort of familiarity. As his eyes darted around the room, he noticed it _was_ very cold, and he wasn't the only person in the room. Standing up and standing on his small cream colored cot, he glanced down the long hall outlined by silver brick and wooden support beams close to the ceiling with random antique candles dotted across the walls, lit to give only a small bit of light.

It seemed as though the hall never ended, and the only thing he could look upon as far as he could see was people sleeping on these nasty cots. Stumbling down, he moved to the person next to him.

His eyelashes laid peacefully against his cheeks, black hair ruffled with pale skin. He was wearing a cream blouse and brown pants, with dark brown boots over them. It looked like normal townspeople clothing, but then... Why was he there?

Gripping his shoulders shakily, the teenager tried to awaken this person. They only trembled under his cold touch, and the man's chest wasn't even rising and falling. Biting his lip, he considered the worst, but told himself to stay calm, even though it was in vain.

Putting his keen ear to the man's chest, he heard a very loud heartbeat, which confused him greatly. The air wasn't leaving his lungs as quickly, and yet his heart was beating as rapid as normal people. Nerves got the best of him, and he dashed about the room, yanking people up, screaming, kicking beds, hitting people, and placing his cold hands over their faces.

Nothing seemed to work, and that's when a light flickered at the end of the hall. He was only a small distance away, but even if he hadn't been he could hear the screech of the door quite clearly. Two people in metallic armor stood in the doorway to freedom, out of this confusing hell.

"What the hell is he doing here?!" One gasped, their accent heavy as they turned to the other for definite answers.

"We need to get him!" He pulled out his sword and charged.

Zidane was dumbfounded for a few moments, before realizing that the guards were indeed after him. Never having experienced it before, he turned and stumbled between the cots, trying to confuse the seemingly stupid guards. Running out the door at the other end of the hall, he tripped and slid behind a large knik in the wall. Breathing heavily, he watched the guards pass and turned around to go back into the room.

Unfortunately, by that time, he could make out glinting silver, and decided to dash down the hall, hoping to find another room.

_Where the hell am I?_ Was only one of the many questions sifting through his mind, but no matter how much he thought, he could _not_ understand. The only place that he had seen that had silver bricks was Alexandria castle. But that was impossible - he wouldn't have been there. It couldn't have been...

Slipping and sliding, his shoes had enough traction to keep him upright as he rounded the corner. Running faster than he ever thought possible, he shot past four guards, who immediately turned to run after him. Picking up the pace, he took a few more twists and turns, getting all the more confused, as the lighting was snuffed out more and more the longer he darted away.

As fast as he ran, he couldn't hear as many things behind him anymore. Shivering slightly, he turned his head, his feet still feverently flying over the brick passage. It was narrow and small, and had the aura of complete eerieness. Then fear struck him as paralyzing and terrifying as ever.

Tumbling backwards, his eyes slowly fixed in on the dark figure sprawled out on the ground. It was short no doubt, but where had it come from? It had been completely silent.

Grabbing a stone from the ground, he menacingly (or so he thought - he was really shaking in fear) stalked forward, ready to beat the thing unconscious. To his surprised, it looked vaguely familiar...

Bright yellow eyes stared up at him in fear, and from the dim lighting, Zidane could see the striped pants and a blue and white jacket. The thing he noticed most was that old tan hat.

Immediately, realization hit, and the blonde dropped the rock, "Hey! You're that mage that I gave the money to to stay at the inn!" Grinning he walked over to him and helped him up.

The mage opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped as footsteps and ominous yells were heard, echoing and bouncing off the walls behind them. At the very max, they could see dim, glittering rays of light shining on the walls. Normally, the light would have enlightened them, but as it began to illuminate the halls, it became one of the most horrifying experiences ever.

Zidane turned and began to speed up, but stopped when no one was following him. Twisting around, he saw the mage frozen in fear. "Hey!" He yelled, in no attempt to be quiet anymore as the guards already knew they were there, "Come on!"

The mage stumbled, but followed him quickly. Trudging forward in a maxiumum speed, they booked it out of there.

Surprisingly enough, the way they ran showed light. But it was a different light... It was more white, instead of the repulsive yellow that held on the torches of the guards. Being momentarily blinded, they did not see a slight group of people about them.

Smacking right into them, the mage and Zidane stumbled backwards, again becoming frozen in fear.

There were four people at the front. One was larger framed with muscles worked up from the past, and armor almost everywhere on his body. He held a long and sturdy sword, something menacing that made Zidane shiver in fright. Then next was a female, and a young one at that. She had chestnut brown hair, and gleaming walnut eyes and the light showed she was beautiful. She wore red pants, no doubt a disguised piece of armor, and a breastplate and gloves. One eye was covered by a headband in her straight hair; it only curled inwards to the extreme at the bottom. She also carried a sword, but it was much more thin, although still strong set.

The next was a redhead. He was slightly short with pale skin, and a leather headband around his eyes. His clothes were much more bandit like, and was almost completely leather. His expression seemed as though it would always be crabby, and next to his waist was a small sheath where a dagger would be kept. Only this guy, who seemed younger than the other two, had two daggers. Ones hilt was tanned and faded, with a red ruby, as red as the seemingly teenager's hair. The other, which he had in his hand now, was a blue hilted dagger with a better build and a sturdier medal, also with a ruby.

And finally, the last looked only a little younger than the redhead next to her. She was extrodinarily beautiful, with long black hair cascading down her back, only clipped at the end so it couldn't fly all over the place. Her eyes were dark and her skin was pale. She had small features, and a petite body fitted into a yellow and white outfit, a crystal necklace around her neck. She bore a staff that had a blue crystal at the top, a specific place in the wood carved out for it. Zidane had to keep his eyes locked on her and the other teenager for a long while.

The man in the armor was about to speak up, his expression angry, but he stopped short as guards came scattering down the hall.

"There they are!" Two guards said at once, on either side of them.

It seemed as though Zidane and the mage, and this other group of four were both running away from guards. In that matter, they would both clash into each other, entrapping themselves with others they did not know.

"We must fight together... We both have our enemies..." The man in the armor who was about to speak to the two who had run into them decided on something different. "Stay together, _please_, and we shall sort things out as we go along!"

Reluctantly, the redhead tossed the tan hilted dagger at Zidane, who just barely caught it. He was about to state that the mage didn't have a weapon, and he didn't even know how to _use_ his, but he kept his mouth clamped tight. He didn't need these guards knowing just how weak he was - not at the moment.

Suddenly, a large burst of fire errupted from beside him, and everyone watched in slight amazement as the mage blew a fireball at the guard, lighting him on a quick fire, making him scream and writher until the fire slowly began to die down. This created an aroma of angry silence, as the guards charged on the small group of six. It was hardly a fair fight to the guards, as the blonde soon came to find that these people they were with were acceptionally fast.

Zidane, looking immediately to the one with the dagger, widened his eyes at the exact skill. He moved as a blur around the guard, hitting him in the helmet with the hilt of the dagger, the metal ringing in the man's ears, causing him to momentarily faulter. As he was distracted, the redhead swung his leg up and kicked the man down on his back. When he was completely on the ground, he slit the dagger across the back of the man's neck, killing him instantly.

_Quick and painless... Mercy but no mercy... _He raised an eyebrow at the familiarity flooding back through his mind. He just couldn't pin point who this guy was.

His stupid sort attention span caught him offguard when a guard hit him in the back of the head with the hilt of his sword. Falling forward, his vision blurred as he saw the soldier being struck down by the hazelnut haired woman rather rapidly. A bright light glowed and swirled around him as the black haired girl cast a cure spell.

He was momentarily baffled. He had heard about cure spells, but never heard of someone who could have possibly completed one. It was a bounch of hog wash in his opinion, but this... Was real. Getting up, he thought he'd repay his new friend, who was frozen in fear by two guards by whipping his own weapon at one's back.

The black mage yelped as the man fell ontop of him, but he managed to squirm his way out before an axe hashed through the other man, already dead, in an attempt to kill the little guy. Quickly moving to the little one's aid, the man with the broadsword stopped the axe from swinging down again.

Pushing his weight against his weapon, he threw back the taller and bulkier guy. Then, since his sword was longer than the other weapon, he slashed the air, cutting the guy's armor until it flung off. At that time, the sword was plunged through the man's stomach, and the axe abruptly hit the floor with a loud crash.

They had cleared one path, but it was the same way the four people had come. Only taking one glance at each other, they bolted out, until the redhead stumbled to a stop. Turning around quickly, his expression unreadable, he extended a hand to motion the two of them.

"Are you coming?" He voice was brisk and quick, but it was low and clear.

Zidane jumped to his feet and helped the back mage up, and they all ran out of there, while guards proceeded in a failed attempt to make them stop.

The walls finally ended as a gate was swung open. Looking around widly, the brunette woman dashed to the edge of the water, her combat boots getting completely drenched. She yanked a boat out of a hidden place, and ushered everyone towards her.

Willingly enough, the two of them followed the four strangers towards the boat and unsteadily got on. It was quite crowded, but that's not what had the two in a jumble.

The world was so different, and they couldn't quite believe it. It had been so surreal, like a dream. No... Zidane could almost laugh at the irony... It wasn't a dream - it was a nightmare.

As he glanced around the uprooted plants that surrounded the waters, and the bricks of the buildings crumbled seemingly at a touch.

The moments that passed were filled with a quiet silence, although his head was screaming.

_Where the hell are we?_

??

**A/N: Well... They meet some interesting people huh? I bet you all can guess who in the world those people are haha.**

**I hope you all enjoyed, and I really hope that you guys liked it enough to keep going :D More questions will be answered next chapter, or the chapter after that, because everything eventually gets explained. Please**

**REVIEW**

**And keep reading!**

**-zesty-**


	6. Chapter 5: Everyone Wants Something

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: I adore this story. I just feel sad that I'm most likely not getting any review for it (I'm on the fifth chapter and I haven't posted it yet :D) Please review if you can!**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned this game. Someday...**

**Quick Random Thought: Just got back from my school trip :D It was funn!**

**Chapter 5: Everyone Wants Something**

Gloom drifted in the air, just as the mist settled atop the water, as though it would never move. When Zidane looked down, he could see the water rippled slightly, the wind moaning in the trees. He could not see the bottom, as murky and clouded as it was.

Crows and other red eyed and black feathered birds pecked their long, sharp beaks in the rubble of charred items in the street. There was a place that Zidane recognized very well with flashes of laughter and color. It was the market area of Alexandria.

Sitting silently for a moment, passing it by he stared. The place he recently saw girls of multiple races playing with their dolls was a torched trolly and several broken swords. The place where people held mock fights in front of stands had cold, hard stone wet with a chilling rain, almost completely reduced to dust. Where the old inn was, no longer stood, but rather a pile of stones, and the sign of the _Lion's Pride Inn_ broken in half on the ground.

Turning around, he stared forward, cerulean eyes wide. "Alexandria?" He whispered almost silently.

No one answered him for a long while. Instead, it was the black haired girl sitting silently next to him with her eyes closed, hands encircled around her diamond necklace that spoke, hardly any louder than he was. It was as though the silence was as fragile as peace in this world; everyone was trying to be still.

"It was taken over sometime ago..." She murmured softly. No one seemed to notice her talking, except for the bulky knight sitting next to her, eyes tightening shut a bit more at the generous tone of voice she used with strangers. In a world quite like that one - Zidane could understand. "It's looked like this ever since..."

That was the last thing Zidane wanted to know. Taken over? By who? Just when he had passed out with his friends, Alexandria had been so peaceful and beautiful. How much time had passed, and why in the world was he even there at all?

He watched as they left the seemingly dead city, and onto the grassy lands. He'd never seen outside those boundaries, so he didn't know what to expect; but he dreamt it looked much different...

The grass was a luscious green, but not in a good way. Mud was smeared all about, the grass trampled on and stomped into the ground. The wind was even more ferocious outside the city, whipping their clothes and the water about so much, it made almost everyone in the boat shiver.

In the distance, he could see a large forest, dark shadows looming about, and a bad vibe rolling off in fat waves. More random trees and large roots spread across the broken prairie, just as ominous and shattered looking as the rest of the world. He wondered just where all the people were.

The quiet and beautiful Bermecians, the loud obnoxious animals, the never restful humans, quick and intelligent elves, and the many more life forms he used to see day after day. They had all vanished, leaving no sign they had ever been there at all.

After sight seeing for a little longer, the blonde and the mage picked up on the glances and eye shifts people were shooting at one another. Some were concerned, others angry, and the majority were curious and intrigued. Their eyes, no matter the color or shape, held a conversation very close bonded people could only share. He realized now that he was an intruder in this situation, and in the end, he knew he would most likely get hurt or punished for his actions.

Although, he couldn't shake the fact, even in this scary world where his best friends did not exist, and his house, family, and everything was in disarray, that he felt he knew the redhead. Glancing over, and locking eyes with him, they stared at each other for a long time.

If only - maybe if he could see the other guy's eyes. Maybe then, if he could pinpoint the color he could get an exact on who the person might be in relation to him and his reality. He wanted answers he knew he wouldn't receive right now, and that's what forced him to look down. He still held the dagger tightly in his hands, the sheath protecting him from the sharp metal.

He just wished he knew what happened, but figured he wouldn't be able to figure it out. Not without these answers he so desperately needed to go on.

He thought about how puzzled he was about this situation, and then thought about his companion he had met not too long ago. He had seen him in the wondrous Alexandria only a day or two before, so he was going through the same thing, and most likely the same thought process. His sapphire eyes scanned the mage's face, looking for any signs of knowledge perhaps he knew, and Zidane didn't.

The short and small mage caught his eye, and a shaky smile tried to pull from his lips. Even though it didn't work, it gave the blonde the kind of determination and hope that he needed to see right then. Any support from anyone who knew he wasn't crazy was such a glorious and scarce thing at the moment, he welcomed it with open arms.

Before he knew it though, they were in a small village on the river. The woman jumped out, and began to tug the boat to shore, the man climbing out with less speed to help her. As they heaved it onto the bank, everyone jumped out, Zidane and his companion he didn't quite know in the middle of the group as they made their way into the village.

It was a pretty empty place, with a strangely still working windmill, a few houses that looked in pretty good shape, and a small garden with a pitifully scary scarecrow. They were lead into the largest building, and down into a hole. As the blonde climbed down the ladder, he felt an overpowering sensation to scream, as though he were trapped in something he did _not_ want to be trapped in.

The ladder was rickety and molding, some of the rungs cracked off. Underground was cold and dark, more candles lighting the way. But unlike the giant building they had been in, this place offered some sort of comfort, or at least people tried to make it seem that way.

Multiple colored rugs were dropped down on the stony floor ways, and the walls had a bad paint job of bright colors. There were a few pieces of furniture in multiple rooms, with a few animals here and there like cats and pigeons. It looked like it could have potentially been a large house or home for people who needed one, if it hadn't been in the location it was.

They stopped unexpectedly, and whipped around, all eyes narrow and accusing.

"Alright..." The large man pulled the sword off his back and pointed it at the two, who backed up into a wall, "who are you?" he questioned.

"What's going on?" He looked up at the taller man, eyes slightly defiant.

"I asked you a question, and you're in no position to _not_ answer it..." He growled the remark as intimidatingly as he could.

"My name is Zidane." He tried to act calm, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the redhead tense and freeze, unseen eyes boring into him, making him slightly uncomfortable. "I gave you who I am, now tell me what's going on!" He demanded, this tightening tension he was feeling from the teenager overpowered by confusion and rage.

His eyes swept over the room. They were in a dining room of sort, with a weird dog creature sitting at a chair with papers sprawled in front of him, eager to get some of the gossip of the two new people. There was a man sitting on a chair sipping something or another, but he was old and didn't look like he said much. The redhead was leaning against the door frame, eyes eternally hidden, and the black haired girl stood completely straight with her staff held in both of her hands horizontally. The two with swords were personally interrogating them.

"And who is this!" He pointed his sword at the black mage, who whimpered and fell backwards trying not to get hit.

"Don't do that, otherwise we won't tell you anything!" Zidane growled, sticking with the mage considering he didn't want to get started on fire.

"_You_ don't say things like that or I will personally cut you up limb by limb..." The woman now, threateningly came into the fray, words burning into Zidane's mind, almost making him flinch. "Where did you come from?" She snarled, pearly white teeth showing under her ruby lips.

"I don't know! I was just asleep down there, and -"

"He's lying!" The tall man brought his sword back in amazement, voice booming, although he still wouldn't let Zidane release his tense position.

"No one ever wakes up from that..." The black haired girl spoke for the first time since the boat, her dark eyes widened, obviously shocked.

"So that means you two are trying to trick us! They've seen our hide out now, we must kill them!"

"I don't even know who this guy is!" He pointed to the mage, sitting terrified next to him.

Making a meeping noise as the sword of the woman was pointed at his face, the mage tried to cower into the wall. The broadsword of the massive man shoved close to the blonde's throat made him scared to swallow.

"So you _were_ lying to us... Tell us the truth..."

"You wouldn't even believe me if I tried!" He glared, knocking the sword away, getting a staff pointed at him this time too.

The young girl suddenly turned angry, although he could tell with the shadowy glimmer in her eyes, she was more curious and wanted to get answers out of him for her own pleasure, more than she wanted to hurt him. That was a good sign. Maybe they listened to her.

That made him want to snort in his mind. Why would two people who seemed to be older than twenty listen to a teenage girl. She was beautiful, and she looked strong enough to hold her own, but so did the other girl. If anything, they listened to her opinion, and tried to fit it into an unimportant part of the plans. Zidane wasn't normally wrong on those kinds of things.

"More lies!" The man in the armor crowed, waving his sword in the air like a mad man, "He cannot even stir an alibi let alone get himself out of death!"

The more they began to accuse each other of too little or unimportant information, the louder it got in the tunnel, their voices echoing off the walls, and making a few things fall from their hanging spots on the rock. Nothing bothered them though, because it wasn't as though there were many other people in the room. Only the two who were sitting there listening to the conversation. They wouldn't contribute.

"We should just kill them now!" Zidane didn't know who said it, but he could tell their voice was being heard over his.

"We didn't do anything!" Even the quiet mage beside him piped in, and that's when suddenly from the back of the room a voice sounded, surprisingly calm.

"Enough..." That shut everyone up immediately, which confused Zidane. It was disturbing how silent it was in the tunnel. "The two of them are dreamers."

Both teenagers looked over at the boys, positively baffled at the news they just received. If the situation wasn't such a scary one, and Zidane had possibly been with Griffon, perhaps he would have laughed at the expressions that played across their faces.

The older two of the small group looked at them, and back at the old man, who walked over with hands clasped behind his back. He was covered with royal - looking armor, that didn't look anything like armor at all. It looked comfortable and cloth; something that wouldn't cause irritation or an uncomfortable feeling. There was a ripped and burned red cloak that surprisingly still carried behind him, although absolutely not as long as it was before.

"But that's impossible..." The young girl stood perhaps even straighter than before, setting her staff quietly down on the table.

At this time, the giant dog like creature gathered up his papers, and briskly walked out of the room. If Zidane and this mage were really these _dreamers_ (he didn't even know what they were, and he knew a lot about himself, so he thought) he wasn't sure if he would spread the word of just wanted to get out of there before things got too confusing and juicy.

The old man smiled and walked slowly up to Zidane, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, friend..."

"Um yeah... Quite a few of them actually..." And with that, he let his eyes scan everyone in the room, eyes stopping on the redhead who still stared at him, as though he had seen a ghost.

??

**A/N: I'm guessing you all know who the four people are, and I'll throw names at you in the next chapter :D Finally some explaining right? Hahaha! Well, I hope you liked that chapter! I really hope you all review so I can get your opinion on this! Please and Thank you! The story is picking up!!**

**-zesty-**


	7. Chapter 6: Answers Greatly Needed

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: I'm really excited to give you all the explaining you need! :D I'm really super duper happy, so I can't wait for you all to read this! Even though I still haven't posted this story yet! Haha! -- Wow!! I hadn't posted the story when I wrote this? Crazy stuff . I'm going to update a day early for all of you - so I can get my every 5 day-multiples of 5- thing back lol.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it, though I wish I did, but you guys all already know that.**

**Quick Random Thought: I'm so tired. Buses are not cool to sleep on for like twenty - four hours!**

**Chapter 6: Answers Greatly Needed**

"Sorry there's nothing more than water..." The pale skinned girl gingerly set a glass in front of him on the wooden table. It had a cloth over it, but it didn't look like a table cloth, it looked more like a curtain that wasn't needed for a place like that.

"Thanks..." He nodded anyways, ignoring the odd furnishings, sliding his chair closer to the table to sit up straight.

He took the water and held it to his lips, shuttering when he saw the redhead decided not to sit around the table next to him.

"I apologize for earlier..." The brunette woman gazed at him with a sincere expression, "I shouldn't have threatened you like that, but you must realize it's essential for this place to stay hidden, for us to stay safe..."

"Any questions you have now..." The man decided to add in his way of apologizing; Zidane understood is was hard to come outright and say it when you weren't a girl, "you are free to ask, and we will answer them to the best of our abilities."

Zidane's sapphire eyes swept over everyone's faces, and a sudden question hit him. He decided, since the mage and himself had the floor, he could ask whatever kind of stupid thing he wanted, "First of all... I think it would be appropriate for all of us just to forget our little... Encounter back there and start new. In order to do that, I'm sure my friend and I here would love to know some names. You all already know my name is Zidane... Zidane Tribal, but who are all of you?"

"My name is Beatrix Juste." She nodded. It was simple, and straight to the point. Something Zidane appreciated.

The man in the armor was momentarily stunned at how fast she was to give out information, despite the fact he was supposedly a dreamer.

"My name is Dagger... Courter... And that's Adelbert Steiner. He prefers Steiner though..." She replied with another gentle nod, and a laugh at the one known as Steiner tried to look at her and Beatrix at the same time.

"Hello..." The mage started in a quiet voice, "I'm Vivi Orunitia." For a moment, everyone took in a black mage, and Zidane assumed that that was something Vivi might appreciate him asking about in the future, but for the moment he stayed silent.

Everything was still in the room as they waited. Perhaps the redhead would join them, but he stood against the doorway simply staring, while no one dared steal a glance at him. He seemed in a very, _very_ pissed off mood.

"I am Regent Cid..." The old man spoke up, filling the bandit's silence to ease away the tension between all of them; it was the last thing they needed on their plate.

"A regent?" Vivi asked before he could help himself; very quickly, he looked back down again, his feverently yellow eyes holding an embarrassed glow.

"Yes my young friend..." He answered, about to go into detail, "I am the Regent of Lindblum that was taken over many years by the forces of Kuja..."

"Kuja?" It was Zidane's turn to question, "Kuja was our leader... Or is or..."

"Perhaps..." Dagger started thoughtfully, caring a lot about the sake of the two's sanity, "this would be easier if you could explain what was going on in this reality world of yours."

Vivi looked at the older teenager, signaling he wished very much he didn't have to talk. With a small smile, Zidane began, "It was a really beautiful place, and everything was peaceful. The only things that were off, were about how perfect everyone's lives seemed. Everyone had a place to go, a chance to set off on new adventures, and have friends, you know... A perfect reality. The only other thing off about it was that there were always these black mages in purple coats who stood very randomly throughout the town. No one could talk to them, because they never spoke back. If you ask me, it was rather rude, but whatever. And this... Kuja that you speak of who's killing all of your people or taking over or whatever, he ruled."

"It was _nice_ having him as a rular?" Dagger single-handedly gave Zidane an ego boost when it came to story telling.

Instead though, he decided to ignore that question, and go onto the next one, "What exactly is going on right now in the world?"

"We're at war... And I don't just mean two nations against each other. I mean the whole world against this one man." Regent Cid leaned forward in his chair, "For more than five years now, he's been capturing the people who potentially threaten his rule so that he can, in a round about way, brainwash them into fighting with him instead of against him."

"Which is where you come in," Beatrix informed him, shifting slightly in her seat, "people only wake up from this monstrous sleep they're put into if Kuja wakes them up. To wake up without his aid would be to have a _lot_ of built up power. Something that isn't even in the strongest of us here, but you two managed to achieve just that impossible task."

"So do you mean to tell me that Vivi and I are... How do I put this exactly... We're more powerful than the other people in that room?"

"Kuja has a rule over the world. You were in the dungeon of the castle, and Alexandria is his headquarters." He didn't let it pass that Beatrix failed to answer his question, but let it go for the moment, "He has taken over much of the world... Only a couple places have managed to evade the attacks, all of them much too small to matter to him."

It was silent for a second as Steiner went to fetch a map, and Zidane and Vivi let it sink in. Staring at each other occasionally, and then at the others in the room, they waited for more questions to come to their minds.

Of course the blonde had more to ask. He didn't understand why in the world things were how they were, and where his friends went, et cetra, but he did know that everything he remembered, happened to be a lie.

"Dagger..." He looked to the girl, who jumped slightly at being addressed. "Would you happen to know if... Anyone has woken up before?"

"Not that I'm aware of... Why?" She questioned, her eyes gentle. She didn't have an idea what he was going through, how long he was in this sleep, or what he remembered before he was in it, so she wanted to stay as optimistic and soft as she could.

"I have... Friends there... I mean, is everyone there a real person?" He didn't know if she would be the right person to ask that question or not.

"Think about how many people populated your Alexandria..." She bit her lip in an attempt to find the right words.

"Alright... I'm thinking about it..." He smiled slightly at her attempt; it had to be hard to try and size up something she'd never seen before.

"Now think of how many people you saw in that room... I mean, there was a room full of people when you woke up right?"

"There were quite a few of them..." It was an understatement, but by the mischief in his eyes, she could tell he was being jokingly sarcastic.

"Well..." She shrugged slightly unsure, "you tell me just how many people were in that room, compared to who all was in Alexandria," he could hear the pain in her voice when she spoke of that place, and wondered slightly why.

Until of course, the realization struck him that unfortunately, there weren't enough people in that place to possibly fill out the whole city's population, and his heart sank a little. The people he had grown to know so well had a possibility of being... Unreal? He thought of Elouise and her strong personality. There was no way she could be just an illusion.

Vienna and her gentleness, unless her anger exploded with Griffon who was always trying to play innocent when he wasn't. And then Avalanch, being quick and smart - no facade could ever match the personality he had.

Before anything else could be said, Steiner came back with a map, and angled it towards Vivi and Zidane.

"There is where we are - that's Dali. It's a small village close to the boarders of the kingdoms of Bermecia and Lindblum." The man's hand glided over the mountains seperating the continent into three different parts. "Right here," he picked up a delicate quill pen and circled Dali, "here," a few more places were circled on the map of the world of Gaia in the red ink the end of the quill was dipped in, "and these places are the only places that Kuja doesn't have control over.

Sapphire eyes scanned the map. There were only about five places, and they didn't seem to be very big: Dali and the four Qu's Marshes spread all over the world. Zidane bit his lip, fearing what he would be told next. Two places were crossed off: Esto Gaza, and Mognet Central.

"What are these?" He found himself asking before he could stop himself, gesturing to the two X's.

"Those are the only neutral places in Gaia. Kuja doesn't really bother with the moogles, and since Mognet Central is the moogle transportation capitol of mail, which he doesn't know, they're helping us as much as they can without getting too involved. And of course, Esto Gaza isn't really neutral, because they're infested with Kuja's black mages, but no one can get attacked there considering it's a place of worship."

"Black mages?" Vivi whispered, bubbling with confusion.

"There aren't a lot of black mages in the world that are responsive and powerful all at once like yourself, Master Vivi," Steiner shook his head, slightly confused, "you are actually one of the first. The rest of them are unresponsive and wear purple, much like the ones your friend described here."

"Does that mean I'm bad then?" He wondered aloud.

"No, no! Of course not! You simply hold tremendous power like the mages, and an intelligent mind like those of responsive races!" he tried to make a joke, the blonde didn't find too incredibly funny, but he held his tongue.

Vivi nodded, and didn't say anything more. Everyone was quiet, taking in the information that'd been handed to them.

"Why hasn't anyone tried getting these people out?" That's the question that had finally surfaced which had been bugging him ever since he had heard of what they were trying to do, "I mean, why doesn't anyone try to help them so that they can help you... It would be a win win situation."

"It's not like that. It's not simple to get into the castle undetected. We would not be able to do it," Steiner explained sharply, "let alone getting everyone out." The teenager slightly regretted getting aggressive noticing the sword on the man's back once more.

"It's our team of professionals that would be able to do it..." The woman with the chestnut hair informed. "They're masters of disguise if you ask mine, or anyone else's opinion here. They may be able to -"

"We wouldn't."

They were the only words the blonde had heard from the redhead since before they had climbed onto the boat, and they sounded more curt now than they had before. Everyone, including himself, turned to look at him, who pushed himself off of the door frame, to stride across the long room, tracing his brown gloved hand over the rock. Paint dust was whisked into the void of air, catching the light from the candles and making a powdery rainbow.

His shoes tapped against the floorboards as he turned to face them rather abruptly, "And I wouldn't want to risk it. We don't even know if his friends were real or not. It's a huge gamble. One I will not put my basic family through. That's that."

He caught eyes again with Zidane, who stared at him questioningly for a short while, before turning his gaze back to the map. They began to pick up on topic about where everything was in the world, as the blonde explained how he had never seen outside of Alexandria.

Irritated with himself, the redhead turned and closed his eyes, placing his forehead against the wall. Voices were drown out in the background like a swirl, where he could hear nothing but the blonde's voice. His body went rigid when a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Is everything okay, Blank?"

He looked over to see Dagger standing to the right of him, her gloved hand on his shoulder in a caring way. She was very serious when she saw her friends distressed - something he had really come to grow fond of about the girl. But this was different. It took it to a whole new level concerning his past that he never forgave himself for... For being too slow and too out of breath. For not knowing the right locations, and for not staying behind. But most importantly, for being too late.

It haunted every day of his wake, and quite frankly, to see the ally he had once wished he could have defended to the death there again, without any memory whatsoever about them... And _alive_ after all that time of searching, after all of that research and bait played out. After everything, he just comes waltzing back, not knowing anything. It sickened the redhead, and yet... He still couldn't believe that his best friend was there. Was it even real?

"I'm fine..." He was just short of growling as he shrugged the hand off his shoulder and walked roughly out of the room.

She glanced back at the Regent and to the seemingly knight, before sighing and walking off after the redhead, calling his name through the stony halls as she went.

"Is something wrong?" Vivi asked, concerned as to why the flow of things was recently interrupted.

"He's not the friendliest person in the world to strangers. He's lost a lot of people - probably more than we have all together... So you know, the whole thing is tough on him. You can't get the kid to open up."

But Zidane wasn't listening to Steiner's excuses for the redhead's behavior. There was something more confusing about Blank than there was before, and yet he still couldn't figure it out. Shaking his head, and sifting through his thoughts, he tried to produce an answer that wouldn't come.

Despite what had just happened with the teenager's sudden change of heart toward him with his glossy and irritated attitude, Zidane still felt a tingle of security as though he knew him. It was a strange thing to feel because he didn't know the redhead at all...

And that's why that feeling of refuge was something he didn't particularly like.

??

**A/N: Oooo! It's for the most part explained! Now we get on with the actual story ahaha! But I hope you all liked that chapter. It was kind of hard to write because I had so many distractions, but that's okay lol... I'm glad whoever is still reading, reads on! Please **_REVIEW_** and I won't have to come after you all!**

**Enjoy, and an update will be soon!**

**-zesty-**


	8. Chapter 7: I Don't Understand

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: So last chapter Blank opened up a little bit. Now you should be able to put some pieces together on just what was going on with Zidane's dreams this chapter. Good luck! I hope it's not too confusing!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Final Fantasy 9, but I own the game... Does that count?**

**Quick Random Thought: Blank sounds like if it were better graphics he could potentially be really sexy.**

**Chapter 7: I Don't Understand**

"Blank! Blank come _on!_" He stalked down the hall, his vision red with anger.

The worst part about that situation had to be that he _was_ indeed angry, and had absolutely _no_ idea why. As he watched the atmosphere of their founded home get lazier and lazier the deeper he went, he wondered why no one ever paid attention to this part of their hide away.

He only wished he could be in a dark corner somewhere to clear his thoughts, and here he had a girl chasing after him. He used to joke that he was going to get that one day, but was put into a sourer mood when he realized just who he joked about that with...

Finally, the pattering sound of feathery feet gained on him enough where she grabbed his arm, and heaved him backwards, all of her weight rolling to the back of her heels just so she would skid to a stop. Finally, in a rather tired matter, he gazed back at her with an agitated expression.

"Blank! What in the world is the matter with you?" She questioned, her voice exasperated with bewilderment and concern.

In a bitter defeat, Blank stopped trying to storm away from the problem, and plopped down against a wall, leaning his head against it in exhaustion. "I know him..."

She rocked back from her heels to her toes, and back again, with her hands clasped behind her back, "What do you mean?"

"I mean I know him, Dagger!" He almost bellowed with frustration, "He was the one I lost five years ago to that _thing_ I always tried to figure out what it was, and the one I was too late to save! He's the one I regret having left to save myself. I'm still here, and now he's completely oblivious to the world around him!"

She momentarily froze as she let this information be sucked into her brain, "You mean, this is the guy you thought you let die a long time ago?"

"Didn't I just say that?" Blank snapped, anger rolling off of him in waves. Running a hand through his hair, he glanced at the girl rather distressed, "How am I going to even be able to approach him from now on?"

"Suck it up?" She offered, smiling and squatting next to him. "You have to remember Blank that he doesn't remember everything and it's not entirely his fault. You're just going to need to help him out."

"Me? Tell him that we were such best friends such a long time ago? Never!"

"Come on, why not?" Dagger allowed her gloved finger to trace the stony pathway they retreated on. She pulled her delicate finger over the rough design and watched the dust spray up into the cool air, leaving a clearer view behind it.

With dark eyes, she looked rather seriously up at the redhead, who gazed troubled into space, his brow creasing every once and a while. She felt slightly bad for him, as she remembered first finding Blank just four years ago. His team had explained he wasn't really one that would be too much of a talker, so she might as well not even try. And they had been right to a certain extent.

The only person he would open up to was the Regent Cid. Of course, he was the only one who knew what he was talking about when it came to things dragging live beings into dark alleys, but that was only a vague experience that had happened a long time ago.

But soon after he spilled everything to Cid, he began to talk to others more, and become more interactive with the new people who surrounded him. Of course, his heart was still dedicated to training with double daggers to be good enough to move with the main team, instead of his old friends. Dagger found it quite odd why he wouldn't want to be with his friends anymore, but once she learned the story, she knew why his friends understood.

He had said he couldn't stand seeing everyone so unhappy. It made him feel miserable to know it was his fault this all happened, even after so many people assured him it wasn't. The more and more the dark haired girl thought about it, the more and more she figured it was just a pure accident. She was normally pretty good at getting people through experiences as her and Beatrix were the most sensitive, and almost the only girls around who gave sympathy, but Blank couldn't seem to be converted to happiness.

Rather dejected, for a long while Dagger had given up, until she had a brilliant idea on just how to cheer him up. She talked to him about how his friend wouldn't have wanted him to be so upset it took away from his life, explaining that he would think the redhead was an idiot for doing so as well. He finally, after a long time, agreed, but couldn't go back to his regular team. After a while, the four of them became their own little unit - almost like a family, but not quite.

Smiling, she looked at him again, "Blank..."

"What?" He grunted, not looking at her, but now stubbornly at the rocky hall around them.

"Just talk to him..." She gently pushed. It was only enough to nudge him, not to completely throw him over the edge; she figured he could handle that.

"No."

"And why not?" She glared, defensive, "you know if you just talked to him, maybe he would..." She trailed, shrugging. "Maybe," she started again, "he'll remember!"

"I doubt it."

"Stop being such a pessimist and try it, Blank. It's the only thing you can do..." She heaved herself up off the wall and turned to stare down at him, "Whatever you choose to do though, good luck. I don't know what you're going through, but I bet it's hard," with that she turned, her hair fluttering up and gently landing on her back in a clump once more, and confidently walked down the hall, truly believing that she did get Blank to think about his options.

She would just have to wait and see for a little bit. It was her best hobby, observing things.

??

When she finally walked back into the room, Cid had left with Steiner, leaving Beatrix, Vivi, and Zidane behind. She was conversing with them about where they would stay, and if they even wanted to sleep. Dagger figured they'd probably appreciate the hospitality, but then thought if they were already talked to about training to fight; they would have to know how to do that.

"I always figured it wouldn't be very comfortable," the woman's hazy, mahogany eyes shimmered in the poor lighting as she tried to make the mood light. Smiling, her hair tilted over her shoulder, giving her an exquisite look that never ceased to amaze the younger girl. "I found out though, that it's really rather comfortable!"

The two nodded as though they understood. "Hi, Dagger!" The blonde greeted a little cheerful. It was probably nice having some clue what was going on, unless it was mostly fake... Both of which she could believe.

"Hello!" She chirped, in an attempt to keep the same level of innocence he had; she didn't miss the slight narrow of eyes, in confusion of course, as he let down his jolly mood for only a moment.

"Is everything okay with him?" Vivi asked, his voice quiet and seemingly troubled.

"He's fine... Just moody..." She took a chair and twittered her thumbs back and forth for a moment before glancing up, "Will they learn how to fight Beatrix?"

"I'm assuming so..." She began to answer, but she was cut off.

"I think we should get Master Vivi a trainer of magic, since we don't have many down here. We could have Dagger teach him!" Steiner walked into the room at that moment, his helmet still on, just the same as always, but he looked a lot less stressed than - not even twenty minutes ago.

"I do white magic..." She corrected, a shy smile on her face.

"White magic?" the blonde inquired, eyes dazed, "that stuff seems really cool. I've never seen a lot of it done before - maybe only the cure spell you cast on me when we were in Alexandria, but that's it."

"That's it?" Steiner asked, his expression matching his personality as both were described as blown away.

"Unless of course I saw more from before I was asleep, but I honestly don't know when that was so..."

Considering the fact Dagger knew, she did want to let him know, so he knew of the life that he had before his slumber in a fake world, but she didn't want to let the whole secret out of the bag. It would be completely unfair to Blank. "Well you're from Terra..."

"Terra?" He questioned, his tone slightly puzzled.

Delicately picking up the quill, she circled Terra on the map. It was just to the left of the Shimmering Island - or maybe it was the right - it was hard to tell from the upside down angle she was at. "It's here..." She looked at him closely, "that's where people who look like you, with the same blonde hair and blue eyes, and the same monkey type tail reside."

"And what happened to it?" He feared the answer.

"It was taken over about five years ago. I mean give or take by a few months, that's probably where you were captured as well, and brought to the dungeon of Alexandria, given the sleeping spell on the way."

"That's an interesting explanation..." Beatrix started, giving her an accusing stare. Why wouldn't she? Considering the fact she knew something the older woman didn't, and the brunette didn't like how that went... It slightly irritated her.

Dagger had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. Of course Beatrix would find out where the dark haired girl was getting this information soon enough, but that didn't stop her from being curious.

"What was this place... Like?"

"It was beautiful..." Dagger answered right away, her eyes fixated on something that seemed so much more like a dream than a historic reality. "There were blue and red crystals all over the place, and everyone was helpful, although a little quiet."

Before they could get any further on the conversation about exactly where Zidane came from, Steiner came back, a beautiful young girl next to him.

Her eyes glowed a soft grey color mixed with the brights of a rainbow. Almost like the sun peaking through the clouds after a wicked storm. And her hair seemed as though it were bronze spun into silky thread. Her figure was slim, curving in all the right areas, with porcelain skin hidden under a dark magenta colored cloak. Her cheeks had a natural rose blush to them, and her long black eyelashes brushed against her soft cheeks when she blinked; they were slow mindful blinks that didn't miss a thing.

"Master Vivi," Steiner began, grinning ear to ear, "This is Nadina Florridon. She knows black magic - amazing we didn't think of her before... But she can help you out with learning your magic."

"If you'd like to follow me, I'll talk to you about the basics, and then perhaps we could try it after you've had a good nights rest and a meal. I've got it all prepared for you. Although, I trust everyone will have the other one covered for food?" Nadina asked, her voice soprano and beautiful - she could truly be considered an angel.

Vivi looked with uncertainty to the blonde next to him, but with an encouraging nod, he got up wobbly and followed behind, pulling his hat closer down on his head. Steiner followed the two out, and not long after Beatrix announced it was her turn to find fresh food for the next morning, so she must be going to bed.

That only left Dagger and Zidane. With not a lot to talk about, it was mostly stolen glances at each other. At some points, azure eyes would drop down to the map, as the girl already picked up on small habits he had when he was concentrating.

Shaking her head and chortling very slightly - possibly so the teenager sitting before her didn't hear or didn't bother noticing - she realized that she wouldn't be able to get his face out of her mind for sometime. When things like that began to happen, she knew it was probably close to the time she should leave. She had to admit, he was a rather attractive individual, but she couldn't admit anything like that out loud... Not at the moment. She had too much to handle...

As if on cue, the redhead walked back into the room, looking extremely awkward. Clearing her throat, Dagger stood up, "Have a good night Zidane... If you need anything, just let Steiner or Nadina know, as they'll most likely be the ones awake, unless you can find Regent Cid, and one of them will set you up with everything you need!"

"Thanks... You have no idea how much I appreciate it..."

She pulled an apple out of the glass bowl on the counter and tossed it to him, "Trust me, it's no trouble at all. Having someone else on the team helps us, no matter how big or small the person is." Without another word, she winked and walked out of the room, heading for what most likely would turn out to be her own room.

Sitting in the chair, his eyes so tired they were almost closed, he was jostled back awake from a weird presence almost beside him. Wearily turning his head, he saw the redhead simply staring at him.

"Can I... Help you with something?" He asked, trying not to sound devastated that he would be in more discomfort for the day.

The redhead looked at him for sometime, before sitting straighter in his chair, looking friendlier than he had before. With a slightly cocky smile he offered, "Sorry about before..." He shook his head, and held out his hand, "Blank."

Cautiously and aware, Zidane shook it, "Zidane."

The shorter teenager laughed, "Yeah I know. You're already quite the talk around here. You and your friend..." He bit his lip, as it was slightly hard to keep an upbeat attitude about it.

"Even though you know... We're new around here and stuff; it shouldn't be such a big deal..." Zidane figured it was silly to get so bent out of shape just because of their arrival; even if they had just woken up from a prolonged sleep.

But Blank shook his head and sighed, "You don't understand..." Looking back to the male, he spoke louder than what he had just said to himself, "What kind of stuff do you remember about your past? I mean, before you slept?" It was now or never, and the redhead picked now.

"I don't remember much of anything. The only thing I can really remember..." He looked down at the old wooden table, and placed his hand over a spot that had begun to splinter before looking up, "Would be the things that happened in this fake world..."

"So nothing weird?" His confidence was failing fast; he thought maybe this would work.

"Well... I mean besides my friends and my family, and my home, the city, all the random events that happened... Among other things, there were sometimes that I'd dream of people I didn't know, or places I've never been."

The redhead raised an eyebrow, "A dream inside a dream?"

"It's weird isn't it...?" He laughed nervously, before scratching the back of his neck, "But that's the only way I can think to describe it really."

"If you don't mind me asking... What were they of? I mean - anything could help you out at the moment to find some answers, right?"

The blonde studied the other male tediously. All of a sudden, he played interest in what Zidane had to say, even though before he seemed to be rude and rather curt. Sighing, he realized that the teenager did, indeed, have a point as to how he could find answers.

"I don't really remember the first few I had. Just... People I seemed really close to, but there was this one..." He shook his head, "It kept me thinking about it for days." He paused for a moment for dramatic effect. "A person and I were fighting this creature..." His eyes became distant as he tried so hard to remember, "It was almost dark, I can remember that much and I was younger. I don't know how much younger, but I had to be older than ten at least..." He nodded, determined to remember.

Blank raised an eyebrow, even more interested than he was before. He didn't quite understand everything the blonde in front of him was talking about, but perhaps explaining what he saw would be the key to get him to remember just as Dagger said it would.

"This person I was with. They must have been a good friend of mine... But remember, I don't know if this was real or not... So it could sound pretty stupid to you."

"Just keep going..." He was being persistent, and he knew that; it was very out of character for him, but it didn't matter - he had to know.

"He was short and had red hair that was super messy, and these really bright green emerald eyes. Oh and not to mention he sounded like he could be slightly cocky." He shook his head, "But then something happened, and I told him to leave. There was this thing... And I can remember its eyes... Silver and shiny - it freaked us out."

But Blank couldn't comment on the rest of the dream. He was stunned; red hair, green eyes, short, and cocky? He was all of those things before his best friend had been taken right under his nose. Biting on his lip so hard, he could have sworn he tasted blood, he gazed at the blonde for a long time.

"Why do you keep staring at me like that?" He snapped, his eyes narrowing in accusation.

"Do you remember a name?" He finally managed to choke out.

"No... It started with... Dammit! I don't remember!" he let his head thump against the table, "What's the point of even trying to remember if it was real, when it might... not.... have..... been...?" Slowly, he pulled his head from the table to stare at the redhead, eyes widening as big as saucers.

The bandit, who had been rigid for the last several minutes as Zidane spoke of that day, leaned backwards, his professional and somewhat harsh actions and words flooding out of him. Gripping the side of the chair tightly, he raised both of his eyebrows.

"Dude... It was real..." And for the first time, in he supposed a very, _very_ long time, he watched the redhead break out into a grin.

??

**A/N: Well... There you go...!! Blank and Zidane finally are reunited. Heh, it took a few chapters, but you know... Blank has to go all therapist first :P Anyways... I hope you liked the chapter, and even though it was hard for me to write, I still had fun writing it!**

**Leave some Love guys!**

**-zesty-**


	9. Chapter 8: Astonishing Things

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: This chapter is interesting. I promise!! :D I know exactly what's going to happen!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anything. It'd be cool though.**

**Quick Random Thought: Does it bug anyone else that Steiner wears armor shorts instead of pants?**

**Chapter 8: Astonishing Things**

"No fucking way..." His hands clenched on the side of the table, and he could have sworn he almost broke it in half, "You're serious?"

The grin on the other's face grew and grew until they both thought his mouth would permanently be stretched. "That name I asked you for was Blank... Zidane, when you were taken, you were taken in Treno when a big fat guy named Baku punished us for screwing around on a mission, and sent us to get supplies in the city, and clear out whatever idiotic monsters were in there so they would stop harassing townspeople. But we stayed too late, and were too deep into the city where this thing came, and it took you..."

"You've got to be shitting me..." Despite his language, his face lit up. "Blank? It was real?"

The redhead nodded excitedly, and leaned forward, "So... Tell me you don't remember me anymore?"

It seemed so surreal, and so much more than a coincidence that he would end up back with his best friend. Of course, the blonde didn't remember a lot of things, but he now knew that indeed those dreams were real, and indeed this was the friend that had been yearning to find him for five years. All he could do was shake his head.

For a few moments, they simply stared at each other, delight at seeing someone they had lost, mentally and physically, growing by the second.

"Well..." Zidane started, almost bouncing in his chair, "What can you tell me?" He posed a challenging smile, "Just how well did you know me?"

To this, Blank had to laugh. It was a laugh he hadn't used in a long time. His pure and considerate laugh that hadn't been brought out, so it sounded slightly odd to the redhead. It seemed as though, despite the fact Zidane's mind may not have remembered Blank, it remembered him enough for them to still be able to know each other, and grasp the sense of familiarity that had been floating out of their reach, almost completely invisible, for the past few hours.

"You were part of a group called Tantalus. We'd get into cities disguised as a theater ship, and steal supplies and such. Even before the war was in full play, it was just to get the good people, and the rising resistance some stuff, you know? Like Robin Hood..."

"Wasn't it bad to steal though?"

"Not entirely. See... We were just stealing from Kuja, and considering the fact he stole from us then it makes us even. You loved to do it - no doubt the best out of all of us."

Zidane smiled slightly. Him? Being the best at stealing? He thought about it for a while, and figured he could remember himself being a sneaky person in his reality world, so why not put that into a good cause?

"It makes sense... What else?" He leaned forward flashing his pearly teeth.

"You were a charmer... Even at the age of twelve... Before you were taken anyways. And you always liked having people around. You were definitely the most social and fun out of us all as well. There was Marcus and Cinna -"

"Are they around here now?"

"They're out... But man... Wait until they see you again, they'll completely go overboard. Nothing was really the same after you were gone... This is why I kind of quit Tantalus and practiced enough to become part of the main team. You know, with Dagger, Steiner, and Beatrix," Zidane nodded in understanding.

They kept talking for a long time. And even when people occasionally walked into the kitchen, they didn't bat an eyelash. So enthralled in each other's tales of a perfect reality, and a shattered one, they hadn't noticed anything else for several hours.

"Oh!" Blank suddenly said, interrupting his own sentence as he looked down at his waist. "Here..." He unbelted one of his dagger sheaths from his side, and slid it across the table.

"What's this?" He pulled the dagger out of its slot, and saw it was the blue one, instead of the tan one he had used before. The ruby glinted, even in the dim lighting, and created a purple reflection in his blue irises.

"I held onto your dagger for you. Somewhere along the way of getting chased by whatever abducted you, you dropped it, and on top of that your sheath came unloosed from your belt... I'm guessing you most likely slid?"

"I did... I remember that part from the dream; I guess I just never noticed... Or didn't have any time to react..." He shrugged slightly nonchalant about the matter; when it didn't seem real to him, it didn't really matter all that much.

"Let's see what you can do with it, huh?"

"Didn't you train with double daggers for a long time?" Zidane asked, already recalling the earlier parts of their conversations, "wouldn't you need this?"

"Please..." He leaned back in the chair, allowing the front legs off the ground as he balanced himself out by putting his boots on the table, "I'm still a pro without the second!"

"Oh whatever!" Zidane threw the apple core, that still perched on the table at the redhead, almost knocking him completely over, but in the end it learned a few laughs anyways.

While they were distracted, footsteps shuffled loudly outside the door, until the wood almost broke off its hinges as Steiner burst inside. With a loud bang, the door hit the stony wall, splintering and cracking it in multiple places. Blank shot up, his chair falling over from the strange position it was in.

"Steiner! What the he -" But the redhead was cut off.

"We've got company!" He nearly shrieked; under any other circumstance, Blank would have thought it was funny how distressed he sounded.

??

"You two _must_ stay here. It's essential that why ever they're in Dali, they don't find what they're looking for..." Beatrix placed her hands on Vivi's shoulders, trying to stress the utmost importance of them staying hidden.

"They're looking for us?" Vivi squeaked, wringing his hands together nervously; Beatrix could only offer a reassuring smile.

"Be careful, Dagger..." Cid looked at her, his eyes warning, but she could only nod determined back.

Picking up his dagger, Blank shot a grin at Zidane, "Don't suffocate down here, missing all the action!"

"Don't provoke them, Blank!" Steiner snarled, "They'll want to come then!"

The redhead only chuckled and followed the dark haired girl up the ladder to the windmill that they were positioned directly under. Slowly climbing to the top, Dagger peeped her head out, before crawling slowly onto the small balcony. There was no place to sit, so she had to squeeze around the safety bars, only her, Blank, and Beatrix without her sword would fit.

And being up in the balcony, she froze, seeing what everyone heard from below. Two men on white chocobos, completely covered in gold armor, helmets covering their whole face, the red dyed chocobo feathers coming out of the crest of the helm signaling these were men who swore loyalty to Kuja.

"Has anyone seen any strangers abroad out here in this filth pile?" One asked, his chocobo planting its feet in the dirt, pecking momentarily with its strong beak.

Only a few older villagers stopped in the street, shaking their heads or not meeting their eyes for a response. Growling, the second guard moved his chocobo into the small town further.

"We asked a question you maggots!" Glaring, he sent his brigade of ten other guards into the buildings to search.

After only a few moments, some of the guards came out from the bar, beer mugs in hand, while the others raided the buildings they went into. The townspeople got rather irritated, and were trying to forcefully take their things back, not used to having any guards around Dali at all.

With the hilt of his sword, the first guard knocked an old man off his feet, and into the muddy dirt, "Stop messing around you old hag, and tell us what we need to know!"

Some of the younger men formed a line between the snow chocobo, and the old man, being helped up by a few ladies. A miniature riot began, the chocobos becoming confused as they tried to maneuver around the people in an attempt not to step on anyone. People tried to tear the armor from the guard's bodies, while the soldiers threatened the people with the hilts and non-sharp points of swords.

In the hustle of some young adults yanking the first man off his chocobo to beat him on the ground. But while this was going on, the second came over, and in the fray, accidentally impaled a young woman in the chest, and as the sword came out, a rib tried to come with it.

For a second, everyone was momentarily horrified at what exactly just happened, until a sudden scream from a child, throwing herself over her mother in a sobbing heap, snapped everyone out of it. It was then that out of no where, a dagger flew through the air, hitting the man who stared uncaringly at the woman, smack in the forehead.

The ringing was enough of a queue for everyone to begin to fight, to back the soldiers out of the town. Bursting out from behind a building on a chocobo, was a knight in silver armor, and when his dark eyes glared towards the twelve guards, Dagger knew that that was Steiner's signal to attack. Swinging down from atop the windmill onto some soft plants put there for that purpose only, she held her staff firmly in front of her.

Atop the mayor's house, Blank stood, arms crossed, waiting for his dagger to be returned to him. Beatrix, at the moment, was no where to be found.

As if on cue, everyone began to attack, the townspeople getting out of the way as fast as they could. Dagger swiftly picked up the little girl, whose mother was beyond being able to be cured with her white magic. Dodging a few attacks, she finally burst into the inn, where the citizens were huddled together, screaming when someone opened the door. She allowed the girl down, as she ran over to someone that immediately picked her up. Smiling reassuringly at them, the dark haired girl turned back outside.

Blank jumped off the building, and managed to pick up his dagger again, but not before getting smashed in the face with a shield. Quickly trying to regain sense, he swung at the air, only to get hit in the wrist with the sharp end of a sword. Grunting, he kicked upward with his foot, finally causing the man some pain, as he fell and rolled backwards to avoid more swords from bewildered, and tipsy guards.

Steiner moved at all the right angles where his chocobo could use his wings to gain leverage on other man with the mount. He could sense both the chocobos didn't want to fight, so he attempted to keep the creature out of the battle as much as he could. With clanking of swords and squees of the chocobos, they fought, trying to reach a peak where they could take the other down.

Finally, out of nowhere, Beatrix came, and with her mega thunder spell, haste spell, and master sword skills, she managed to take on three of the knights simply alone, before one knocked the sword out of her hand with a deafening snap, and another, slightly larger one tackled her down.

??

"I don't like the way things are sounding up there..." Vivi looked to Zidane, his eyes worried.

"Well... They told us to sit tight, so that's what we have to -" he flinched as someone was thrown against the windmill, unfortunately missing the squishy plants, "do..." He trailed, finishing his sentence.

"We should maybe go help them..." It was unlike the mage to seek trouble or danger, but he figured with the sounds from above, they might need some help.

"Ugh!" Zidane threw his hands up, and grabbed the ladder, "Let's go! We'll see what's happening first..." Climbing up the prongs in record time, he poked his head out in time to see Dagger's staff be knocked from her hands, and a darkness spell cast on her, with no allies to help.

Growling, the blonde leapt from the windmill, not even bothering with the plants to pad his fall, and tackled the man down who was about the strike the poor girl to her death. Twisting around out of the man's reach, he used his own, newly equipped dagger's hilt to hit a pressure point in the man's neck, and the sharp metal to slice off his hand holding the sword.

Knowing he wouldn't be any more of a threat, he pulled Dagger out of the line of fire from a guy with an axe. Despite the fact this man was short, his weapon held a large amount of impact with it, completely splitting the fence in half. Zidane's eyes widened as he kept himself and the girl out of harms way.

"Can you cast an esuna to get rid of the blind?"

"I need time!" She yelped, struggling to maintain a hold on her calm attitude.

"I'll give it to you, but you've got to hurry!" He allowed her to plop onto the soft grass, as he defended against multiple guards who tried to come and strike them down because of the handicap on them.

Vivi on the other hand, was having one heck of a time getting down from the windmill. Finally, a chocobo was in a perfect position, allowing him to thud down onto it. With eyes wide, he summoned up magic - any magic at that - towards the guard about to slice Steiner's legs from behind.

A chilling sensation shot through Vivi's arms, creating a vivid blizzard spell, and sending it spiraling towards the man. He suffered freeze on the spot, and fell to the ground, chipping off what seemed to be his arm. Before the mage could control it, a second force thrust his body almost completely off of the immobile chocobo. It was electrifying and fast, and a sudden haze of yellow lightning thrashed the second guard's body to the ground.

With his armor charred, and his skin only slightly burning from the heat of his armor, on top of him being hot with rage forcefully charged towards the knight.

Beatrix, who had suffered largely from the tackle, had managed to kill the guy with her thunder spell, jolting herself in the process, managed to save Steiner just in time for him to slice the man's neck.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the battle was over. The crumbling buildings seemed to smoke from the magic, and the grass smelt burnt. There were broken fences that were charred and had a smoky effect portrayed on them. The roads were trampled on, wet with rain, mixed with the heavy boots, and bodies that were thrown this way and that. A few dead soldiers lay on the ground, their blood mixing into the mud, creating a maroon syrup leaking into the stomped and broken grass.

The others, who hadn't died, had managed to get away, leaving one poor, white chocobo there, squawking for its friend that was steered away. The yellow one that the village owned went to comfort it, both of them trying to find something unspoiled to munch on while there was still time to be let loose.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and it began to sprinkle, leaving drips of dark water randomly dotted over the town. Blank pulled himself out of the mud, where he had been laying for the past several minutes to look at the damage. Dagger walked around from house to house telling them the fighting was over, but to keep inside the houses unless there were men to come help clean up.

Steiner was trying to wake Beatrix up, after a hard blow to the head, and Vivi was checking everyone's pulses to make sure there was no one suffering and too weak to pick themselves up.

Zidane sat in the grass, leaned up against a building. His breathing was rugged, and he blinked a few time to get the splotchy dark away from his eyes. He vaguely noticed Blank walk over, and hand him a small glass vial.

"You were poisoned. It's not a big deal really, just drink this..." Taking the vial, Zidane let the thick substance slide down his throat. Already, his mind seemingly turned back over, right side up, so he could think clearly again and move about, back to perfect health.

He was fatigued yes, but that was due to lack of rest most likely, after battling so hard. While he drank, he noticed he had earned a gaze from Blank.

"Still staring at me?" He joked, a smile dancing upon his lips; Blank could only smile.

It was at that point that Steiner marched up to them, his face bewildered, his movements jerky, "How did you manage _that?!?" _His voice was shrill and distressed, but finally when he calmed down, he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, "I thought you said you were in your _dream_ world... Where did you manage to fight like that?"

"I don't know... I just... Instinct just took over! It was crazy..." He could tell no one was buying his story.

He shouldn't have been surprised (although it didn't fail to amaze him) when Blank spoke for him, "It's something he's known to do. Just because he was in a bed for five years doesn't mean he didn't remember..."

Steiner nodded, although still in disbelief, and turned to Vivi, "Is it the same with you?" He asked more gently; it was obvious the older man picked out a favorite when it came to the two new comers.

The mage could only shrug, scared he would get yelled at to. This made the man smile, and shake his head, "I'm sure... Of course there's no one to speak for you."

Blank rolled his eyes, "He's just jealous because Beatrix is paying more attention to you at the moment than him."

"Did you say something, Bandit?" Blank only grinned, his teeth glittering in the droplets of rain that fell before his face; he knew Steiner was only joking around, angry not at him, but at the embarrassment when the woman he loved could be so close to hear.

"Let's take this fight inside..." Dagger instructed, "They'll be back to scan the area, and having us out in the open probably isn't the best idea."

"That sounds like a wonderful plan!" Steiner inquired, picked Beatrix up delicately, a blush creeping to his cheeks, allowing a snicker from Zidane and Blank.

Everyone began to pile down into a hole in the mayor's house floor. Zidane didn't see how in the world their hide out could have so many exits and entrances so close to each other, but he figured the windmill was a good spy tool, considering no one ever looked up to it anyways.

But before Dagger could go down the hole, she turned around, causing Zidane to run into her. He steadied her quickly, as she clung to his arms, embarrassment for her sudden movement apparent on her flushed cheeks.

"Sorry..." She mumbled, but then looked up and in a louder voice continued, "I'm not sure what would have happened if you and Vivi hadn't come out to help us..." She smiled at the mage on the other side of the hole, who was just about to go down, "So... I just wanted to say thanks."

"Well... Thank _you_, Princess... It's an honor for you not to be mad and accusing!" He mock bowed, sending a deep crimson color to her cheeks.

"Zidane!" She huffed, thinking the moment was completely ruined, "Stop being immature and stand up! I'm not a princess," she almost insisted, "so don't say that kind of stuff! People will get the wrong idea..." Shaking her head, she went down the hole, leaving a confused mage and Genome topside.

"Okay..." Confused, he let Vivi down in the hole first, before going quickly down himself.

He found himself inside the kitchen before he knew it, standing before some unfamiliar people. Blank looked as though he had just been arguing with them, as it was Steiner who directed him there. One was short and fat, his tan armor almost blending in with his skin, and the other had a rugged bandana over half of his face, elf ears pointing out from holes in the side of it, and his clothes were a sort of blue leather.

Behind both of them, was a tall man with a large nose, funny ears, goggles over his eyes, and a very round belly. His eyes were harsh, glaring at Blank until he came in, and his eyes immediately widened, as his mouth opened and closed stupidly. He didn't look like the smartest guy ever, but Zidane had to give him credit - he was definitely scary looking.

In the end, it was the muscular teenager in blue who stepped forward, eyes narrow with confusion, "Zidane?"

??

**A/N: Yes... Another chapter complete! I thought you'd all be happy to know that :D It's definitely wonderful to still be introducing people :D I hope you all enjoyed it, and I look forward to see what you all have to say!**

**Leave me some reviews loves!**

**-zesty-**


	10. Chapter 9: Welcome Back

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: Hello everyone! I'm back again! Haha, cliff hanger, huh? I'm glad that you like it (if anyone does anyways) And so, here is the next chapter... It's chapter nine! Wooow! Lol**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it, wish I did, you know what I'm going to say, since I've been saying it for a while now.**

**Quick Random Thought: I hate the texture of cats' tongues.**

**Chapter 9: Welcome Back**

Sapphire eyes shifted unsurely to each member standing in the kitchen. Everyone had a different expression on their face, so the blonde didn't really know what all to say.

"Holy shit it really is..." The one in blue leather laughed, and turned to Blank, "Why didn't you tell us he was back?"

"They only just arrived, now move, Marcus, so we can help these people," Dagger tried to explain in a rush to get the few wounded from the battle, cleaned up.

The one known as Marcus, only backed up into the tan skinned one with sideburns going all the way down his face. Blank stood, and yanked Zidane out of the room, expecting everyone to follow. Like the curious people they were, they followed, entranced on how the Genome stood in front of them, after being missing for five years.

He was situated in front of the kitchen door, so while Blank and the others argued, the redhead trying to explain everything so the blonde wouldn't have to, again, he could watch what was going on.

Beatrix was carefully placed onto a pull-out cot, as was the dog creature Zidane had seen earlier when they have first arrived in the hide out. A few more unnamed people were placed, and Dagger scurried about, trying to cure them, and give them potions, antidotes, cast esuna on them, and more. A few hyped up people were munching on Gysahl Greens, in an attempt to get the berserk out of their system.

The few people who the blonde did not recognize weren't in too bad of shape, but it was still something to grimace at. One human was missing an arm, the blood squirting out with every beat of his heart. Nadina was in the process of bandaging the stub of the limb so he wouldn't lose so much more blood, while a cream colored moogle tied rope around it to stop the precious liquid flow. His face was pale, and he groaned as his eyes began to roll into the back of his head.

Zidane felt pity on the poor human. He didn't look that old, and he must have lost a lot of blood, considering he was about to die. If they didn't hurry, Dagger wouldn't be able to revive him.

The dog like creature sat with an annoyntment, carefully putting it over himself, to cure the trouble that caused problems for the people he was around. His hands were cut up pretty badly, and on top of that, he seemed to be shedding a lot of fur that he didn't need to from the gash on his back that split open his shirt.

Dagger was busy conducting a stona spell, before the elf cast to stone broke through the thin clothed cot and shattered on the floor. His hands were up, shielding his face, as both his knees were bent, almost as though he were trying to bend backwards to avoid the shot. Zidane noticed that one of his ears had been cut at the top, so one was more shaped downwards than pointed.

Steiner was shooting a vaccine into Beatrix's arm, and although she was still unconscious, she moaned and winced as he messed around, trying to be careful, with the needle. She seemed utterly exhausted, and besides a few dents, in her armor, she seemed fine.

The fight had taken a lot more out of them than they had originally expected, that much Zidane knew. Those guards weren't the kind of guards in the castle, but they were dirtier ones who had a lot of tricks up their sleeves. On top of that, no one had been prepared for them to come to Dali and knock around the townspeople - or even end up there at all. But no matter the reason, it still seemed like a small hit.

He remembered someone saying that most of the resistance was out, which was, in the end, better than having them all around. It seemed less like a hide out, and more of a spontaneous chance that they came to Dali to help out.

Walking out from another entry way into the kitchen was a fat, pure white skinned creature with a long red tongue hanging out of its mouth. It had on a pink shirt, with a white apron over it, and a white chef's hat on its head, the strings long enough to reach just past its chest. It wore a blue, ribboned bib and darker blue shoes with bows on them. Its eyes were completely white, with almost a flower shape of red lining them.

As he moved around, looking back and forth, his tongue swung this way and that, "What happen to everyone?"

No one acknowledged his presence, and went along working. Blinking, he tried to move towards Dagger, who simply brushed past him towards another wounded person.

"Zidane!" From the back of his mind, Blank's voice flew into his head, making him turn back to the group before him.

"Yeah?"

"You're right..." The fat man grinned, "He's still as stupid as ever!"

"Hey!" Zidane protested, but was stopped when the one in blue leather began to talk again.

"Well... Since you probably don't recognize us... Maybe it'll refresh your memories to hear some names. I'm Marcus, that's Cinna -" he pointed to the one with the tan armor and goofy face, "those two are the Nero brothers," He pointed to the two dog-like creatures, "that's Ruby," he gestured towards a blue haired girl in a green skirt, "and that's Baku."

Zidane's eyes swept over all of these people, putting his mind to the test as he tried to remember. A dream he had had reminded him of a few of them, although the others were a bit sketchy.

"So I don't understand..." Cinna plopped into a chair, his weight too much to carry on his legs at one time, "What happened to you then? I mean, Blank told us what happened yeah... But what... _Happened?" _

"Way to be descriptive, Cin..." Marcus rolled his eyes, and leaned against the wall.

The blonde recognized the personalities, if not the people, and it made him slightly calmer. Despite all of the things that had happened, and all the things he didn't remember happening, he still knew these people. It gave him hope that maybe at one point or another, he could remember all the things that happened to him, before five years prior.

Sighing he looked up, "It's just basically as Blank told you. The thing attacked because we were too far off mark, and then I told him to leave... I tried to run, but the thing tackled me. There wasn't really anymore to that."

"You don't remember anything else?" Cinna asked eagerly.

"Why were you boys off your mark in the first place?" Ruby asked, her hands on her hip, her accent heavy in her words.

"That's not really important... Call it beside the point, Ruby," Blank rolled his eyes, finding it stupid that the first thing she could say to Zidane after not seeing him for five years, would be something like that.

"Darlin', you live off the point, so I would watch what you spray out of that mouth of yours!"

"What is she talking about, Marcus?" Blank asked, sitting up now that he was involved in the conversation.

"Does it matter what she's talking about? It's Ruby, she always says stuff we can't understand. Her and her ridiculous metaphors... She's not really the problem right now..." He jerked his hand towards Zidane, "You. Talk."

Before he could help himself, he let out a laugh, the noise sounding awkward on his tongue, "There's really not anything else to say."

"What was this dream world like?"

"Who was there? Did you know anyone else? Cause I sure knew a lot of people who disappeared -"

"Enough!" Blank and Baku both said at once, "let the kid breath..." Baku added, shaking his head.

"Just cause you ain't excited to see him -" Ruby flipped her wrist, rolling his eyes dramatically; this certainly heated up a conversation that most likely wouldn't end for a while.

At this point, since Zidane was no longer on the spot, he listened to these people with such a close bond fight, while he was on the sidelines. Once upon a time, he would have been included, and possibly the one who started the fight, although he still had this time anyways. Shaking his head, he glanced back into the kitchen to see how everyone was doing.

The dog like creature was done with the annoyntment, and was now helping the one without an arm sit up. Dagger had obviously cured him, but he still looked as though he were in pain. The moogle he had seen before bounced around, cleaning everything up, and making sure there were no germs with a nifty cleaning spell.

"He slept through the whole thing, can you believe it?" Dagger asked, shock etched into her face.

Steiner shook his head disapprovingly, "What's the point of even having him around?"

"I do good!" The fat thing Zidane had seen before moved his head rapidly from each other them, his tongue slapping back against himself as he expected some sort of a kind answer, but he stopped as soon as his eyes landed on the blonde staring at him.

Slowly and cautiously, he began to walk towards him, eyes fixated hard. Zidane looked to Dagger for help, but she could only smile.

"That's Quina!" She giggled, watching the Qu move towards him, and the Genome become more than slightly freaked out. (**A/N: For reference sake, Quina is dubbed a boy in this story**.)

The thing known as Quina walked right up to the teenager, after no danger was suspected, and licked him, square up the cheek and slightly into his hair, completely sliming the right side of his face. The expression on Zidane's face said it all. All of the Tantalus crew burst out laughing, Dagger and Vivi included, and Steiner smiled.

Scared of what was going to come off his face, he slowly smacked a hand onto the drool ridden flesh, and wiped it off, a glop of it falling to the ground. With his mouth slightly opened, he looked up, positively baffled towards everyone with an expression that read _why didn't you tell me, you traitors?!_

"Do not taste good... Cannot eat..." Quina shook his head disgusted at Zidane, "Genome..." He identified after a moment, shaking his head, "No can eat... Who are you?"

"Zidane..." He said in a shaky voice, eyes quivering with the chance he could be licked again.

Quina nodded excitedly, "You be my new friend?" He questioned.

"Sure?" He blinked, wiping the remaining spit off of his face with his sleeve when the Qu turned back around.

"You can't sleep anymore during battles. Those guys could have afforded to see a Qu try and eat them..." Steiner added, pounding his fist into his hand.

"There was a battle?" Baku finally questioned.

"There were only about five wounded people in the kitchen you idiot!" Steiner's anger flared, but only momentarily. "You're lucky you came in through the observatory."

"That's the only place you can land airships... Don't blame us..." the leader of the Tantalus shrugged innocently, but gruffly.

"Why where they hear?" Marcus asked, voice less joking than before.

"They came to Dali," Cid began, walking into the room at just the right time, a pipe in his hand, "to recapture the escaped dreamers."

"I don't understand..." Vivi began, sitting on the table, all the while before helping Dagger and Nadina heal people as Zidane was caught up in his own conversation, "Why would we be so important to catch? It's only two people..."

"Because Kuja's goal is to get the most powerful of people to fight on his side, he doesn't want people who know it was a trick sneaking around. Potentially, if positioned in the right place at the right time, you two could ruin his whole plan. Both of you were picked for a reason... Bloodline and power being part of it."

They let that sink in for a moment, before Vivi looked up again.

The black mage stared at Quina for a while, already having been introduced a few moments before Zidane had been slimed. Luckily, he hadn't gone through the same trauma... It must have been the way the blonde smelled or presented himself. It made Vivi smile, but the more and more he looked at Quina, he saw some familiarity in the air.

For as the same with Zidane, Vivi also had dreams while he was in his sleep, ones he couldn't discuss with normal people, and ones that had him lying awake for hours contemplating.

??

_"You must stand for what right, Vivi!" Someone who looked very familiar to Quina nodded at him._

_"How do I do that, Grandpa?" He questioned, his voice higher, and younger than he was used to himself being._

_"Like what happens in trees right now..." He pointed with a short finger, to the horizon, where trees were being cut vividly from their posts in the ground, "If you talking tree, you help other trees, yes?"_

_"Ah..." Vivi nodded, "right." Even though he had no clue what his Grandpa meant using the trees, he understood the metaphoric meaning behind it._

_"Now let's eat!" He took out a large spoon from his cabinet, and stirred the soup around, Vivi watching the colors swirl together._

_Glancing around, he saw the paint splattered onto the walls of the dwelling, the hot springs keeping it warm inside a normally cold cave. There were shelves and shelves of stored away food, some of them accessible by walking up to the wood, others, Vivi and his grandfather having to reach by other means. It was a cozy feeling, having the rainbow of smells wafting through the air._

_He walked to the edge of the darkness, lit only by candles, where it contrasted by what was lit by the sun. It was their balcony of a sense, in the cave, and putting his hand to the wall, he saw the mark his grandfather had made showing how tall Vivi was some months to possibly a year ago. Looking outside, the royal blue sky clear and peaceful, white birds dancing through the sky, as though it was all synchronized from the start, he saw the wind tickle the trees, making them waver slightly._

_There was a loud knocking noise on the stone that made Vivi jump, and whip around to look at his grandfather. Quite calmly, he wobbled over to their set up door, and pushed it open._

_"Quan Quen. We've come for the mage."_

_Cocking his head to the side, he questioned, "What mage?"_

_This was Vivi's queue to hide. He had known, from what his grandfather had always told him, that if any situation like this had come up, he was meant to hide right away. Carefully making his way outside, he slid into a large pot, made specifically for this reason, and placed the lid quietly over. All he could do was listen from a distance._

_"We know he's here..." They pushed Quan to the side, rummaging around, and spilling the almost made soup onto the ground, having it splash all over. The spices engulfed Vivi's sense of smell, making him hope these guards wouldn't search too thoroughly._

_He didn't know why the guards wanted him, and he was _scared_. What if he were taken away from his Grandfather? The thought made him shiver._

_He held his rugged breath as he heard the heavy footsteps of the soldiers walk out onto their balcony. Closing his eyes, he hoped for the best, and wanted nothing more than to just do what he did normally in life, and eat his soup with Quan before they went to the hot springs, and possibly even outside to find more food to stalk their shelves._

_But his heart sunk when someone kicked the pot he was hiding in, and tipped it over, him and the spices inside falling out. He tumbled and skidded on the stone, looking up at Quan who had a terrorized look on his face._

_"There he is! The little brat!" A guard tried to grab Vivi, but before anyone could react, Quan hit a specific amount of things tied in the air, and food suddenly fell out all over the guards._

_Pots and cans broke, food was smashed and spoiled, and Quan called out to the black mage, "Run Vivi! Don't come back! I find you in city across trees -" Vivi knew what he meant, "Don't get caught!"_

_As carefully, but as quickly as he could, Vivi began to make his way down the side of the balcony, hoping not to slip on anything. As soon as he got to the bottom, his hands aching and his shoes scuffed up from the hard rock, he turned around, only to bump into the legs of someone._

_A guard looked down, smirked, and scooped him up, blowing on a whistle to signal he had the mage, and that they should leave. Then he turned down to Vivi, who struggled in the strong grasp that clutched him, and shoved a vial in his mouth._

_Ever so slowly, Vivi's world fell to black._

_??_

"Not only that, but Vivi is extremely powerful..." Cid pondered aloud, pointing out something that made Vivi come back to reality, "most black mages don't make it past a certain amount of time. But Vivi... Vivi must have been alive for at least five years, considering he was alive before the sleep, if not only just born..."

"What's so different about Vivi?" Dagger questioned, curiosity filling her voice.

The Regent could only shake his head, "I don't know..."

"Wow..." Zidane smiled, taking the spotlight somewhat off of something that could potentially sadden the mage, "We're in the presence of a _very_ powerful being!" He mock bowed, in an attempt to keep the mood light.

"You surely have a thing with bowing, don't you?" Dagger questioned, a smile breaking out on her features.

They shared a look for just a moment, no one else knowing what they were talking about, except Vivi.

Trying to get another message across, Nadina shook her head, "you mean to tell me... That these guards won't stop at anything to try and find them?"

"Right," Cid nodded.

"I hope, for the sake of this whole resistance, that you killed the guards you encountered in Alexandria castle... Otherwise, they'll know who Zidane and Vivi are with."

Everyone paused for a moment, temporarily in distress before Blank added, "They would think we'd keep them in our hide out. Which in a round about way, I suppose unless we're going somewhere any time soon, they will be... But see, since our hide out is impossible to find, we'll be okay."

The human mage shook her head, "I pray you're right..." She looked at everyone in the room, truly wanting to believe Blank's words.

But no one could be sure, as they glanced at the people they'd give everything to protect.

??

**A/N: You know - that was meant to be a short chapter, and it ended up really long. :D I hope you liked it all the same, and I hope you guys leave me some love! I know Quina is never you know... Whatever - as in it's questionable if S/he's a girl or a guy, but... Just bare with me on that one, doesn't s/he just seem more like a he?**

**And as for Vivi. The details of his past may be sketchy. I know that his grandfather was a Qu, but I'm not sure if Vivi would have taken his Grandfather's last name, which is why it's Orunitia, or if he already had a last name to begin with, so I'm just going with Quina's last name, since all the Qus seem like they would know each other.**

**I know that he might have been the first prototype of the black mage, which is why he's lived longer, and I know that he's nine in the actual final fantasy game, but other than that I'm clueless, so if I make any mistakes, feel free to point them out, just please don't blame me for them.**

**Leave me some love! It would be greatly appreciated!**

**-zesty-**


	11. Chapter 10: Routine

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: Okay! The next chapter! I look forward to it... I'm on the eleventh chapter (if you count the prologue), and I think I'm going to post soon! :D Wish me luck! Lol... (Tis June 12 right now - let's see how long it takes me to get this chapter up, huh?)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it, nor have I the last ten chapters, nor do I plan to in the next ten chapters.**

**Quick Random Thought: Where has the good weather gone?**

**Chapter 10: Routine**

The clashing of daggers rang through the air, creating a sense of normality. It was a fine evening, to a great day. Crickets chirped a song of nature that no one could understand, but greatly appreciated, the long grass swaying in rhythm being the beautiful and talented dancers, and inside this grass were Zidane and Blank.

The two of them had been practicing for hours on end, from when they got up, to the very moment in time they were trying to defeat each other in battle, only stopping occasionally for a break. Sweat beaded down their faces and backs, the light breeze of twilight feeling good on their hot flesh.

Sparkling sapphire orbs against unseen emerald ones held trust and a sense lacking cautiousness, as each grinned at the other, trying to deceiver their next move.

"Give it up, Blondie," the redhead joked, spinning around, planting his boot firmly into the soil before blocking the steel from hitting him, "you'll never win!"

"I could kick your ass any day," his best friend challenging, dropping his dagger to his tail, and flipping backwards to avoid getting hit, the tail coming from the side to hit Blank with the hilt.

The shorter teenager toppled over into the grass, hooting at how hilarious that specific move looked while preformed. He commented on Zidane's furry tail never taking place in helping him battle before, and would now allow it to be hit in battle with some importance.

"At least I've got a tail to help me out... You have squat."

"I have my dignity," he chortled, keeping the cracks at his friend rolling as the blonde plopped down in the grass next to him.

Depending on the way they lounged, they could see the tip of the short black mage's hat in the luscious jade sea, its waves rolling slowly, sending a tranquil vibe into the air.

The bronze haired woman was defending herself with multiple shell spells in a row, in an attempt to go on the offense, as Vivi kept aiming fire spells at it. It was apparent that his heat attacks were more appropriate, and not to mention powerful, than his freezing attacks. They couldn't miss, no matter how far back they were, the grin of satisfaction and triumph on his mentor's lips.

"Do you think he'll outshine Nadina?" Zidane asked, not even having to gesture over to the pair still duking it out.

It was easier for them, at such a late hour, because their spells illuminated their field, allowing them short spurs of light, where even the forceful clanking of the metal daggers, scraping against each other, couldn't create a flashing spark.

"It's hard to say. Nadina has been around magic for a very long time, but Vivi seems to have extraordinary skill."

"Who knew you were a thinker," he found that making jabs back wasn't challenging at all, and the redhead didn't take any offense believing that he deserved it after the tail harassment.

Instead he took a different course of action, "I know - it's amazing how a brain can turn on in five years."

Zidane had to laugh at that one. For being so sour all the time before his return, Blank really knew how to make a comeback with his attitude. Everyone was grateful for the return of the joking and wining of the redhead, and it was just a matter of time before Baku could ask him to possibly transfer back to his old team.

Although the blonde didn't know if he would or not. Of course, since he was back, there was no reason for anyone to feel mopey, besides the circumstances, and the shifts the war was taking. By any means, the resistance should have had the advantage after finding the two stray dreamers. But that was really beside the point. Blank had made his own little family of the two girls and bulky knight, and although at times a little dysfunctional, he believed that Blank was happy. Just because the blonde was back in the picture, he didn't want to shatter what his friend had going.

At any rate, Zidane didn't know where he was going to go, or if he would be placed on any team. He had no ideas on the future, considering it was so essential he didn't get captured. So he couldn't tell if he'd be sifted through directly to Steiner's brigade, or stopped and set on the Tantalus ship. Whatever happened though, he prayed he was good enough to land a nice spot with people he knew.

A shudder of the wind made them all turn, the magic vanishing from the air as though a suction cup had been pulled of glass. The pressure could be heard before it could be seen, and felt before it could be accounted for. A cold rain suddenly began to pelt them from the sky, and although the two thieves thought it felt nice, Nadina shrieked for them to come, as they couldn't be wet and enter the fortress.

It seemed to him though, that they would be drenched by the time they got there, and it occurred to him to ask someone who wouldn't find his questions stupid - Dagger perhaps - if the hide out had ever been flooded. Surely this was a harder rain than he had seen in a long time, but not dangerous in the least.

Laughing suddenly, he began to race with the redhead beside him, water splashing up onto his pants, soaking his shoes until they were drenched. But he felt comfortable, and a feathery bubble of fun seemed to plant itself around the two of them.

Nothing - not even the rain - could physically or metaphorically dampen their spirits now.

??

This routine went on for a lengthy amount of time. It was comfortable, and all the while tiring, as to where no one had any room to pose drama inside the spacious - as Zidane discovered, bored one rainy day - hideout. It had been a week since the rain, and he still hadn't found a time to ask if it would flood or not, the concern never dwindling from his overflowing mind.

But tonight, the routine would be broken. Blank had managed to persuade everyone that Zidane was indeed ready to scout with the rest of the group. If problem were to occur, he would be able to avoid it. The blonde was touched by the amount of faith planted on his shoulders, but also nervous.

What if some odd sequence of events unfolded, and he was forced to make a decision - one that was wrong? But Blank, Vivi, and Dagger, who, as plain as day, were the ones he would be closest to at this time, as the Tantalus crew went back out on a mission, not having completed theirs fully when they met Zidane again, assured him he would do fantastic.

When he had time to himself, the Genome reflected on his relationship with the three. With Blank, it began to mold into a competitive friendship, although when push came to shove, they would help each other out in a heartbeat. Their bond grew, and from the memories Blank shared with him every so often, he knew they would end up closer friends than they had been before.

With Vivi, he seemed to take on role model. He was slightly entertained by this idea, his cocky ego bloated, but not so much as any outsider with an opinion would be able to tell the difference. He tried to enlighten the black mage as best he could, with skills he learned, or already knew that the young mage did not. Zidane knew that Vivi would teach him new ideas as well, which would ultimately lead to an exquisite friendship of perfect balance.

But with Dagger... He could _not_ figure out just how that was going to go. His normal personality was saucy, he could admit that. He was like that with Elouise and Vienna in his illusion world as well, and although he was asleep, Cid had ensured him that he possessed the same personality. This rubbed off, and no matter how hard he tried, he seemed to make these unconscious comments that really ticked her off.

Although there were the rare few occasions that he seemed to brand himself sweet in her book. That would be ruined ten minutes later, but the opinion still stood, although sometimes he would burry it with his idiotic remarks. He knew that in due time they'd become close friends, just like with everyone else, but with the girl it would be exceedingly hard. He noticed things about her - things that perhaps he was the only one who thought, or things everyone already knew; the seventeen-year-old did not forget he was the newcomer, although already being there before.

Cid was sweeter on her, than with others. He wasn't as harsh, and he'd have private conversations, and _make_ time for her, although not on every occasion - he didn't want to make Dagger seemed spoiled - but privileged was the better word. And with Steiner and Beatrix, sometimes the bandit would have to contain himself. Their ever watchful eye glared at him like a hawk if he was too persistent, and that got him wondering.

But in the end, he figured it was them being cautious and protective (much _too _protective, if asked his opinion) of their youngest female member. The only other that was close to her in age was Ruby, but she still out held herself by at least three years. Thinking on the matter harder, before Vivi came around, she was seemingly the youngest member.

"Hey!" A voice behind him, the sound of fluttering footsteps, and huffs of sugary-sweet breath broke through his revive, "Are you ready to go?"

He turned, his sapphire eyes knowingly turning fond as a smile crept onto his lips unconsciously, "Yeah... I'm all set, just waiting on you."

"You make it sound like a bad thing," she smiled, the raven colored hair framing her face, contrasting against the pale skin of her cheeks.

"Trust me, Dagger," he grinned, and she knowingly glared at him in return, "it's not."

Laughing at her irritated expression, he walked past her, "Let's go! It should be interesting to try this out!"

"You better be careful! No goofing around tonight, Zidane, and I mean it! I will tell Beatrix and Steiner."

"You wouldn't do that, would you?" He feigned sadness, placing a hand over his chest, hurt.

"Well no... Of course I wouldn't, but the threat is kind of nice, isn't it?" She smiled walking ahead of him, and taking advantage of his stupefied moment to climb up the ladder first, "You _do _have to follow my lead though..."

"I'm well aware of that!" He scoffed playfully, looking at her once they reached the inside of the house.

The section of the mayor's house had nothing essential in it, where the rebellion members could easily come and go as they pleased, no matter the hour. Of course at this time, the mayor's wife, whose black hair was pinned atop her head, a red dress cascading to the floor played a classic tune on the piano. He sat on the couch listening with his eyes closed, his black haired daughter sitting on his lap, swaying to the tune.

Dagger tried so hard to be quiet, opening the door and sneaking out, while Zidane tried equally hard to close it with the same amount of noise. It didn't work as well as he planned, and it ended up slamming, interrupting the flow of the piano keys for only a moment.

"Don't be so inconsiderate to the townspeople - they're kind enough to let us stay here..." She muttered, standing straight and positioning her staff on her back in the right way.

"Wha - I didn't even try!" Zidane protested, running to catch up after being momentarily baffled at her slightly snide comment.

"Of course you didn't, Zidane," she sighed, distressed, wondering just how everyone was going to end up dealing with him in the future.

"Believe what you want..." He mumbled, defiant to her advice.

After walking in silence for a while, the conversation picked up easily, and he supposed it was just a bit of small talk. Either something was going to drop and they would start arguing again, or it would turn into an in depth conversation where they wouldn't be able to possibly focus on their task at hand anymore.

Glancing backwards, he saw that surprisingly, Dali seemed a far ways away, even though it didn't seem like they had walked very far. Fixing his gaze on a large mountain ahead of them, Dagger seemed to answer the question that floated into his mind.

"That's the ice caverns," she smiled slightly, "it's very strange in there. In order to get from Alexandria to Dali on foot, you have to go through them..."

"Sounds fascinating..." He cringed, hoping he didn't have to take that journey for a long time; walking all the way to the capitol of the nation sounded tiring to him even trying to imagine it.

"I can tell you're entranced..." She teased, her eyes bright even in the darkness.

"I'm so entranced; I could break out into a monologue!" With her challenging glance, he jokingly used an acting voice he acquired and never forgot, reciting lines from his own play he had memorized so easily, "Out in the moonlight daze of the night, we shall run away - run from all the problems of your nation and your people, and your family. My dear sweet," he kneeled on his knees, arms spread in front of him, Dagger in his line of sight, "we could leave the troubles behind, and thou shall be free of kindling fire of hate and rage, and thy shall protect you from all as you spread your wings and fly!"

She stopped for a moment, blinking as he burst out laughing at her face, "Didn't think I was a poet, did you? Thought I was too stupid?"

"No, no! It's just... That sounds... Really familiar... And the way you preformed that, even that small section... It was fascinating and just... Wow," she smiled, impressed, but then paused, slightly shocked, "Did you recite that from _I Want to be Your Canary?_"

"What?" He questioned, wondering how she could have possibly known that, as he didn't tell anyone about that dream. Then he groaned, realizing he had gotten the idea _indeed_ from a dream. "Yeah... If that's what that play was called."

Realizing what he meant right away, she exploded into a fit of giggles, before he narrowed his eyes and chased after her, her quiet squeals of protest filling the silence with a calming sound from an illusion where the world indeed, just as he had recited, wasn't affiliated with problems.

Chocobo talons clattering against the rocky path made both of them stop and sit up, alert and unwavering. Zidane, looking in the right direction, knew exactly what it was, and tackled the girl into the grass. Only for a moment did a blush creep to her face, until the voices drown out the embarrassment of being stuck in the grass, the blonde holding her down.

"Did you find them?" A gruff and harsh voice questioned; the two of them could almost feel the glare, as it if it were pointed at them directly.

"N - not yet, sir..." a younger voice, masked with armor over his mouth, informed him.

"B - But we -" The voice was choked off with spit and armor clutching armor.

Zidane peaked only his eyes over the grass to see what was going on. The older man on the white chocobo, armored and angry at being out at such a late hour, grasped the throat of one of the footmen in gold.

"Find them, or the punishment for this mistake will be on _your _head!" He snarled, his voice booming, shattering the silence of the prairie field.

When they began to turn in the blonde's direction, he sunk lower to the ground, his arms shaking in an attempt to keep his weight off of the girl below him while being so nervous. Slowly he got lower, her hot, quick breath blowing onto his face. Closing his eyes, he prayed whatever way the soldiers were going to go, it wasn't closer to them. But after several minutes, he look backed up, straining his arms just a moment more, and seeing no one around, collapsed to the side of her.

She was afraid to sit up, her dark brown eyes wide with confusion and fear. He looked over at her, his own body jittery and rigid all at the same time.

"What... The hell... Just happened?" She whispered, her voice hoarse.

He sat up and looked around, seeing the peaceful night once again, and stood, his eyes landing on her trembling body, "There were... Guards out. They're looking for Vivi and me..."

"We have to go back!" Although she expressed this, she couldn't move, and Zidane thought it his job to help her up.

"Which way do you want me to go?" He muttered, keeping his voice low and allowed his eyes to dart around.

She shivered with the next wind that swept their scent away. Although the soldiers alone wouldn't be able to catch their scent, she didn't know what all they had, which scared her...

"Just try and locate Dali... Follow our trail through the grass, and try to bring it back up so they can't find us..."

"Got'cha," his one word answer was filled with a nonchalant attitude, and made her some what more relieved to be with him.

"Zidane?" She whispered, hoping he wouldn't take what she was about to speak as a joke.

"Yeah?" He asked, not looking at her; she could tell he picked up his speed from a fast walk to a trot.

"Thanks... I mean for knowing what to do. I sure wouldn't have, and it frightened me. Whenever I've been on patrol nothing has ever happened. I can't fathom the confusion I would have had, since nothing exciting like this has happened in a really long time."

"It's really not a problem," he spoke softly and it was one of the times she thought he was truly genuine and sweet, "I'll always protect you, Dagger."

Even if it was an attempt to flirt, or if it was his own words it made it even better, but she didn't care. The sincerity in his voice broke through her slight fear, and made her more relaxed. She figured Zidane would be someone to look to in the future if things got bad - she could count on him, and she owed him her respect...

When they were finally back, the mayor had already gone to bed. With a desperate need to spread the word, the girl let go of the blonde's leading hand as soon as they reached the kitchen. It seemed as though everyone had had a stressful enough day where they all went to sleep.

As hastily as she could, the girl walked down the hall, the pitter-patter of her feet echoing softly against the stone. Picking up speed, she made her way to Beatrix's room, almost running into Steiner on the way. She knew though, if she told him, he would go into an uproar and possibly blame Zidane, while the brunette would keep a level head, at least enough where she wouldn't blame him.

Knocking rapidly but quietly on the door, she noticed Steiner's presence lingered behind her. Dagger could expect it though - she was early from her shift, and he was just waking up to take his.

Beatrix came to the doorway, unexpecting to see Steiner right there, as the band she wore around her head was gone, her hair in a messy ponytail, only being clad in her armored pants, and a shirt much like Dagger's undershirt, but in black.

"Dagger?" She mumbled, pulling a candle to the door to get a better look at the out of breath girl.

"Beatrix something has happened..." The woman appeared more alert then, and stepped out of the room, trying to look professional, even with the profound blush on her cheeks with the knight so close when she was at her worst.

"What's wrong?" She questioned as Dagger lead her down the hall, the armor-clad man at their heels.

"We were out on patrol - Zidane and I were, and we saw knights. They were looking for Vivi and him... At _night!_" She emphasized the word as it absolutely blew her away that they were scouting without the aid of the sun's rays.

"Don't panic... We'll call a meeting..." Going out of the room, and lighting a candle in the hallway, she pulled on a rope that ultimately lead to a bell that creaked while it rang, mimicking the sound a normal bell would make, although blasting it through the small passageways and rooms.

People were there in a matter of minutes, everyone gathering around the two in the kitchen, Dagger's back completely filthy with dirt, Zidane's with grass stains and brushed off particles.

After the story was explained, everyone thought of what to do.

"Maybe they should leave!" A tall man, probably only in his lower twenties suggested, glaring slightly, "Everything was fine before they came."

The man had black hair that hung in front of his piercing blue eyes, so scary blue he almost looked blind. His pale skin added to the creepy affect, and he wore normal clothes, similar to everyone else's but his weapon was a sword, even bigger than Steiner, and much fatter. It was definitely intimidating, and he stood out.

"That sounds like a better idea than the ones I've heard lately, Darious!" The human who lost his arm in the battle they suffered in a little more than a week ago, waggled his stub in the air, "Look what's happening to us because they've come, we're falling apart!"

Vivi looked helplessly from the men to Dagger's team, hoping feverently that they didn't side with the humans. He didn't know what he would do if he were kicked out. He only hoped that if it did come to that, Zidane would be with him... But where would they go? Everyone was hunting them...

"That's ridiculous!" Dagger almost shouted, her pent up anger almost bursting, "If it hadn't been for Zidane tonight, I could have easily made a mistake!" She tried her hand in defense, but Beatrix put a hand on her should to hush her.

The only thing the girl could do was look helplessly up to the brunette, her expression screaming for her to do something.

"I say we take them out of the equation!" The first man glared harder now, walking closer to Zidane, sizing him up, making him ball his hands into fists. "Either that or we _kill _them, that way Kuja won't get his paws back on them!"

Out of reflex, Dagger's hand shot out to grab the gloved, fisted hand of the blonde, eyes almost tearing to know she could have potentially been the cause of this. Zidane shot her a sympathetic look, trying to calm her down.

"They're extremely valuable to us... They're powerful, and they can fight -"

"Far better than you can, Darius!" Dagger kept digging herself a hole, but the men didn't bat an eyelash at her, even if the Genome didn't know the reason.

"And they might just be what this resistance needs to take our rebelling to the next step... The decision is made - they will stay..." Cid inquired, nodding.

Mumbling, the man stalked out of the room, but not before shoving a chair at the black mage, who almost got hit, if it wasn't for Steiner who stopped it by stabbing it with his sword - surely it would have knocked the poor mage out.

??

Another week went by, and just to make sure, Cid decided to keep Zidane and Dagger off patrol. Everyone was careful for the first few days, taking precautions that were normally skipped. Such as locking the mayor's door when they came and went, staying close and possibly even in Dali for food, and traveling at odd hours.

For the first couple of dawns, some people were sensitive around Vivi and Zidane, some venting their anger on how ridiculous it would be to even consider getting rid of them, and some completely avoiding them. Not that the blonde blamed any of them, but it got rather old until everything died down.

With no sign of the guards anymore, they were finally let back on patrol as a test run, to see if they could see anything else. In reality, everyone was well aware of the fact it indeed was _not _their fault, but rather, it was mere coincidence of the timing. The two only felt bad because they were messing around just before hand.

"Zidane?" Dagger asked quietly, breaking the invisible wall between them.

It had been silent the whole time, and they were rounding their last hill before heading back to Dali. She could swear she was going to nod off soon enough, and she couldn't believe how tight the air was, and just how challenging it was to breathe when he was lost in thought, not bothering her or chatting with her in the least bit.

"Yes?" He asked as equally hushed.

"Everything's going to be fine - I mean, we're almost back!" She smiled brightly, gesturing towards the field; nothing _had _happened, so she had every right to be happy.

"Don't jinx it, Dagger..." He wisely said, although she could see the grin stretching to come onto his features, just waiting impatiently to light up his face.

She let out a low laugh, "We're almost back there -"

A rustle in the grass made her almost scream. Luckily, Zidane caught her mouth with his hand just in time, and tumbled backwards in the grass, this time, she was protectively to the side of him, tucked under his strong upper body just so, because he didn't know the danger, and it was a lot closer than last time.

But what popped its head out of the grass was not what Dagger had expected at all. Even transitioning into the peak of darkness in the night, even all bugs and animals asleep, she knew that face and she would know it anywhere.

Slightly nudging Zidane to the side so she could sit up, her eyes fixing on the beautiful face, she questioned almost breathless, not seeing this person in months, "Freya?"

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**A/N: OH MY GOD! It's Freya! Lol... Did anyone suspect that? Lol... I really liked that chapter. Dagger is so adorable with Zidane, I just realized how much I love them!!**

**I hope you all love it so far, and I PRAY you all leave some love for me! I work so hard on this story. Sorry it's so long - again it wasn't supposed to be!!**

**-zesty-**


	12. Chapter 11: Curious Questions

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: I have no clue what's going to go on in this chapter - but I'm excited to write it! I hope you all like the story so far, and I can't wait to see how you all review on it! :D Since I haven't posted even the prologue yet lol.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it... And I won't ever and I'm started to accept that.**

**Quick Random Thought: My large cat is in front of the screen and I can't see anything.**

**Chapter 11: Curious Questions and Concerns**

"Oh my gosh! Freya! What are you doing here?!" After seeing the relief flood over the Bermecian's face when she found it was Dagger in the grass, and not someone she didn't care about, the girl was completely convinced it was the white haired role model she had that she hadn't seen in many months.

"I have some pretty important information that could help you guys out..." She smiled, her hat tilting up, and in the gleam of moonlight, showed her beautiful, sparkling eyes.

The younger girl smiled and helped Zidane up, although didn't recognize him the rest of the walk back. She was much more caught up in what Freya had to say, even though she wouldn't report much until she was with everyone at once, although she had to envy the girl's enthusiasm. If she wanted so much to learn about what was going on everywhere else in the world, her job would be a lot less stressful, but the precautions she had to take were absolutely terrorizing.

The most painful thing about coming to the kingdom of Alexandria was being away from her home for so long. Of course it was corrupted with Kuja's minions, but she missed the rain and the smell of it all, and not to mention Sir Fratley. She wanted so dearly for him to come, and aid her on her quest to help, but he refused, saying he must keep in Bermecia until the war cleared so that he could protect his king as they hid undercover, trapped in the city. Dejected, she allowed herself to come back to Dali.

Once they were back, and greetings were shared to welcome her back to the Alexandria nation, the business could officially be started.

"What exactly brings you back here, Freya? What important information do you have for us?" Beatrix asked excitedly; she was thrilled to have yet another from their main team back.

"Information of the war and Kuja spread in Bermecia. Sir Fratley, who I still have no persuaded to come to Dali yet, has been able to get key information from the King, "He's on the move... These dreamers who escaped have definitely got him in an uproar. If he learns of the rebellion getting large enough, he plans to awaken some of his fleet, but of course..." She shook her head, not showing her eyes, "he might not be able to do that if the two out there will spoil his plans."

"Do you have any idea on just where he'll be, if he decides to awaken them?"

"They'll start in Alexandria... As that's where they're all kept, and sweep out from there. But there's been a couple interesting laws pasted."

"What do you mean laws?" Steiner asked, sitting up straighter in his chair, his lack of attention suddenly snapping back into place, "He never makes laws if he can help it..."

"You need papers and passes to get into basically any city now... And when I mean basically any - I don't just mean Bermecia and Cleyra, Lindblum and Alexandria, I mean Conde Petie, Esto Gaza, Treno, and Daguerro. And then... The works - gates have been built so people can't just sneak in, guards have been placed almost everywhere now, and people who aren't citizens of these cities can only be in there escorted by a guard. There are curfews now. Everyone must be back inside their homes by eight at night, normally when the sunsets..." She shook her head, disgusted.

"That's horrible!" Dagger gasped, "Why would he do that?"

"To keep a better eye on who's moving about. With guards patrolling almost every prairie and such now - it was so challenging to get here - they can keep a better rope on what rebellion is where, and if there are any people up to fishy business," she scrunched her nose, as though smelling just that foul odor in the air.

"What _did _take you so long, Freya?"

"I had to fight my way through one brigade. They were quite off their trail - or at least, surely weren't moving from their resting position for a while. I snuck up on them - they hadn't seen it coming. I say good riddance... From what I picked up on by their conversations - they were headed towards Dali, and with you two patrolling, you could have run into some trouble."

"Yeah... They did a week ago, guards looking for the dreamers..." Beatrix nodded, signaling she knew just what the Bermecian meant though.

"Who are these two anyways?" She questioned, gesturing towards the black mage nodding off, and Zidane who stood silently paying attention.

Cid took a breath, smiling slightly, his white mustache moving with his lips, "Freya... I would like you to meet Zidane Tribal, and Vivi Orunitia... The two escaped dreamers."

Her eyes widened much larger than they were meant to be, as she pushed her white hair out of her face. "Well well..." instead of extending a hand, she bowed slightly, "It's an honor... Meeting the first two people to escape Kuja's clutches, in his own capitol castle at that!" She laughed, her mood suddenly brightening, "This truly is a treat... Does anyone realize just how much they'll help our cause?"

Everyone grinned, and the blonde appreciated the encouragement, although it dropped more stress on his already aching shoulders. He slumped slightly, and everyone knew him and the girl must be exhausted.

"Everyone should sleep then..." Steiner nodded, "We're all in need of it, and it seems as though we shouldn't be out at such late hours anymore."

Breaking apart from the eventful night, Zidane and Vivi walked down the hall, "I liked Freya... She seemed very nice..."

"I agree with you, Vivi," he flashed the mage a smile, "say... How about tomorrow I help you with combat fighting."

"Me? But magic -"

"Magic can wait..." He smiled, "Think about if you get magic exhaustion - what would save you then if you didn't know how to fight?" in a twisted way, it was a slightly mean way to back Vivi into it, but the Genome knew it was for his own good.

"O - Okay..." He nodded, pulling his hat closer to his head, "I'll do it!"

"That's the spirit, Vivi!" He smirked, and looked down, a fondness unknowingly lighting up in his eyes, "You get some sleep now though, so we can practice early tomorrow!"

"Okay!" The mage sounded excited, and for that Zidane was happy; he didn't want the poor guy to feel too horribly stressed.

As Vivi wobbled down the hall, groggily trying to get to his bed before collapsing, Zidane lingered in his doorway, wondering what would have happened, had he never met the mage, and how scared he would be to be alone. That got him thinking on his friends again, it bothering him that he couldn't ever figure out if they were real or fake. Had he known all he knew now, he would have stopped, outsmarted the guards, and doubled back around to try and find them.

Shaking his head, he shut his door with a _thud_ and flopped down on his bed for some well deserved rest.

??

Clanking footsteps on the red carpeted hallway were menacing enough to make everyone move to the side. Even though he was their equal on many levels, they still respected him the most... He had the most power out of them all.

Smirking under his gold plated helmet, he gripped the hilt of his sword at his side tightly, feeling his fingers strain at the effort. His cape swayed behind him, the red almost blending in with the carpet, but the crimson color of it much more subtle to the brightness of the floor.

Taking a sharp left, he hurried down the hall, even though his mind screamed for him to stop. Despite his gruff attitude, and the sudden fear that sent everyone cold when he stepped into a room in his armor, a scowl permanently etched onto his helm, he did _not_ want to tell his Lord this. It scared him very much - what his punishment would be.

It wouldn't for say be his punishment either... It would be his Lord taking out his frustrations pent up out on him, sending him to do some pitiful job even he was well above. Shaking his head slightly, he pushed open the doors into the long, breezy room.

Green, lively plants outlined the white, ivory walls, the floors glimmering with material so shiny, some thought it to be magic that could keep it so clear. Pink and purple tulips lined the outside, as the almost fake blue sky could be seen outside the pillars and unglassed windows, miniature green forests gardened under them.

It had the essence of a gazebo, even though it was the most important room in all of the castle. The red carpet did not end, but it changed from red, to light blue at the doorway. His Lord had always complained about it clashing with things - a somewhat odd argument, but nothing he, himself would comment on.

"My Lord..." He bowed, taking off his helmet, shaking his sandy brown hair only slightly.

Looking up, honey brown eyes met silver-blue hair, not expecting to see his lord standing with his back turned.

"General Strand... I trust you have something to report?" The light, airy voice was poisoned with an uninvented anger, waiting to come out.

"Lord Kuja," he began, taking a deep breath, hoping the man he stood before would turn around so he could see the reaction of his news, "another brigade has failed to report back."

Kuja's pink lips pursed in disapproval, as he swung his legs around, hands still clasped at his back, to face the man.

"They were sent out a week ago, Sir, and still no reports. Although in their camp closer to the North Gate were the dead soldiers. None seemingly survived."

"This upsets me, General Strand," was the only thing he said for a very long time, "their causes of death?"

"Are unknown, Sir, although there didn't seem to be a struggle, or even more than one person. To sum it all up, one person killed this brigade being a surprise, and being graceful about it, Sir."

This time, Kuja's brow creased, his left hand unconsciously bunching the white material by his thigh, bunching it up, letting it go, and repeating the process, pretending it was the man's throat.

"I want to know who the person who killed this brigade - what brigade was it?"

"The Rose Brigade, Sir - made up of all men except one black mage, Sir."

"Of course... Yes, I want to know the murder of these people... In the mean time, find Sergeant Corks and have him write to their families - I want them alerted right away."

"Of course... And we _will_ find out who was behind this, Lord Kuja..." He made the promise, bowed once more, and turned to take his leave.

It wasn't as though Kuja was bad to the people who followed him. He would be fine being the leader of the world if people just _obeyed _him... But life was so unfair sometimes - people _did_ rebel against him, which was somewhat upsetting, their families magically disappearing, and sometimes, being murdered on the spot. But the people who did serve him... Well they would get the satisfaction of having their families taken care of, and ensured spots in cities.

Smiling, his brushed at his blue eyes, lined with red. It seemed whoever this person was who kept killing his brigades in Bermecia was surely have to be _dealt _with.

??

"I think they'd make a fine addition... They seem to know what they're doing..." It was Freya's voice they heard first, coming from the tunnels far ahead of them, the loudness of the conversation echoing quite a long ways away.

"But they haven't been here that long! That would make our small group much too large - too many people to look after! Especially if you're planning to stay for a while, Freya!" Steiner's voice boomed, and no one needed to strain to hear what he was talking about.

"They know how to take care of themselves..." Blank insisted, his voice tense and rigid.

"It wouldn't kill you to have some black magic on your side either..." Nadina added her opinion as well, and the two of them, creeping up on the conversation, could imagine her crossing her arms defiantly.

"Think of the disadvantages..." Beatrix pleaded, "Just for a moment, so we can get things straight... What if having them around, and out and about causes them to get captured, or in a round about way, us to be killed?"

"Are we just not going to chance it forever then?" Blank questioned, sitting up, "If they're here, they might as well help."

"Blank have point!" Quina agreed, his tongue sliming the air, his spit slicing through it, and landing on the floor. His chef's hat slid in front of his eyes for a moment, before he readjusted it with a wiggle.

"What's going on?" Zidane tried to ask casually, although he had been listening in on their conversation for quite some time.

"Zidane! Vivi! Just the people we wanted to see!" Cid invited them in, an amused smile dancing on his lips, "We are in the middle of a great debate right now!" He shook his head disapprovingly, although the smirk never swept off his face.

It seemed on one side of this debate, there was Freya who looked as though she wanted her opinion to matter even more so considering it didn't when she was in Bermecia. She wanted to be heard, not just thrown to the side, and even though she had been away for a while, she was still very much so part of the team.

The next person was Dagger, and although she hadn't said anything the blonde had heard, her opinion stood strong willed at being for whatever was at hand. Her eyes were defiant, hands locked together politely in front of her, head held high. She had a lot on her shoulders right now, and in the end, her decision would out weight everyone else's.

To the side of her was Blank. He was breathing hard, and anyone could feel the hot glare through the leather around his eyes, making it impossible to ignore his passion on the subject. He knew Zidane the best out of any of them, and if he could make a comment on just how valuable the teenager was, they should take his word for it.

Standing not far away was Quina. Although no one knew quite what he was about, it was apparent he had liked the blonde and the mage, and thought they would be a good addition to whatever was going on. The bandit didn't know for sure, nor did the black mage, but they had an idea from the facial expressions of everyone, who was agreeing on things, and who was not.

Nadina was seated in a chair, trying to calm Steiner down with glares, which weren't making much of an impact. She was obviously for - since they had heard her opinion in the hall a while back and next to her was Beatrix, not quite knowing where to go.

They assumed, from knowing her personality, she was trying to analyze the situation, but couldn't do so considering the fact her opinion actually mattered.

Then there was Steiner, who looked irritated and bewildered, completely blown out of proportion, his face red, and his eyes dancing with a flame lit from within.

The only person in the room who looked gleeful, and possibly slightly giddy, was the Regent Cid. He seemed to think this conversation was simply dazzling in all due respects, "Truthfully, the choice here is up to you, Dagger."

All eyes shifted to her, as she stepped forward. Breathing slowly, she mustered up a smile, "Zidane, Vivi... I'd like to invite you to join the main team of the rebellion with Beatrix, Quina, Freya, Steiner, Blank, and myself..."

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**A/N: Yay! Oh my god... That was like the hardest chapter out of this whole thing to write, but then the Kuja idea struck me and I'm like oh yeah, I've got it all planned out.**

**I hope you all liked it - it was an absolute bitch to write :D Have fun everyone!!**

**Leave me some love and reveeeiw! I would really very much appreciate it!**

**-zesty-!**


	13. Chapter 12: Thoughts And Regrets

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: Okay!! Next chapter! I finally posted my prologue on June 15th. And only a couple reviews. I hope I have more by now... It'll kind of depressed me if I don't... But that's okay - I'll keep going just because I really like this story! I won't update for a bit though, I'm leaving for the weekend and won't actually be fully back to the computer until Wednesday night.**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Final Fantasy 9 - I love it very much.**

**Quick Random Thought: Review people! I'm doing this for you and you only... Well Kind of.**

**Chapter 12: Thoughts and Regrets**

He watched the wooden chair scrape the stone floor as he leaned backwards, eyes close to shutting for the night. He was tired, but he could not sleep. There was a book in front of him, open only to the second page, each crinkly and hard giving the impression it was very old. The book cover itself was hidden in the grey dust that settled upon it and stuck, unable to be blown away, and the binding was beginning to fall apart, masking the navy blue and gold lettering even more.

"What are you doing awake?"

The voice was enough to jostle him, and make him fall backwards, hitting his head on the stone, allowing the book to sprawl through the air, pages flying in the wind created by the motion. It earned a low chuckle from the teenager who had just moseyed into the room.

"Don't do that, Blank! Holy shit!" The blonde sat up, rubbing his head and trying to get the dizziness of the action clear from his mind. Picking up the chair, he plopped back down, to exhausted to do anything else, "I can't sleep..."

The redhead strode across the room and gently picked up the book, letting it collapse softly onto the table, complete with a small _thud_, "That's interesting... How come?" He questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"I don't know..." The taller one shrugged, his mind drawing a blank.

"Does it bother you?" The question captivated the blonde, as the other seventeen year old hastily sat in a chair, leaning forward with his gloved hands crossed together, "I mean... Not knowing..." He trailed, his voice getting quieter with every word said.

"I think that's maybe why I can't sleep..." Zidane sighed miserably, shaking his head and letting it thud onto the table on top of the book.

He could smell the dust that had been upset when the book went flying, and it settled into his nose. Pulling his head off the cover, his eyes bore a gaze into the redhead's shielded orbs, his expression reading terrorized.

"Those people..." He started, dropping his azure eyes to the dark oak table; it contrasted badly with the cedar wood of the chairs, "they have no clue... No clue that everything they've lived for is a lie. They don't understand, and they _won't _understand. They'll be fighting for a cause, when woken up of course, that they do not believe in at all... They can't fill in the blanks you know... Like you all helped Vivi and I do."

They sat for a long moment, staring at each other, allowing their thoughts to overtake them. Zidane still couldn't fathom that people with such strong personalities, like the ones he befriended and saw every day, could possibly be fake. Shaking his head, he opened the book again to a page in the middle.

"_Ever has it been that love knows no depth, until the hour of separation..."_

"What?" Blank took his eyes off the table, and stared at the blonde who seemingly just spoke nonsense. "That was from..." He stopped talking to allow his friend to speak.

"Lord Avon said this in his greatest book -"

"_I Want To Be Your Canary,_ right? It sounds like something he'd say..."

"Marcus says this to his best friend... The traitor who thinks Cornelia marrying the Prince is a better idea later on in the play..." He nodded, and stood up, his chair making an awful screeching sound, "It's the same with the personalities of these people I met... I had no idea that they were fake. They seemed so real - as though their personalities had no depth... No possible way of ever being predictable... And now that I finally leave... I took a step back from the situation and saw that there was depth... There was... I don't know - but it's close to impossible to believe that these people are just some stupid fakes..."

"I didn't know you felt so strongly, Zidane..." Blank mumbled quietly, although still loud enough for the blonde to hear.

He braced his hands on the table and forced his chair back also, and got up, allowing his hand to brush over the cerulean book, leaving only a lightly cleaned trail behind it.

"Perhaps I'm over thinking things..." He chuckled, finding ironic humor in the situation, "Maybe it'll make me go insane."

"If you aren't already insane..." The redhead flashed a smile, and the other teenager appreciated the attempt to keep the conversation out of the depths of despair, but it didn't stop him from wondering...

They said their good-byes and Zidane walked to the end of the hall, pushing open his door to his room. He wondered slightly, allowing his mind to get distracted from the thoughts at hand, why everything was so creaky, and how people could sleep through the wallowing echoes in the halls, but shook his head. It must have been something they got used to.

??

"You're sure energetic this morning, aren't you?" Blank nudged Zidane in the arm, trying to joke with him the best he could; their conversation last night left him in a deep thought process that he could not be easily broken out of.

"I didn't sleep very well last night..." He shrugged, trying to roll it off his shoulders, acting nonchalant, but he could tell the redhead didn't buy it.

"Eat something. It make you feel better!" Quina called from behind them, a large grin on his face, his tongue ever hanging out.

The two thieves looked at each other and burst out laughing, earning a confused look from the Qu standing next to them. Walking into the kitchen, Zidane settled at the table, chin in his hands, falling into his mind once more.

Something bad was going to happen from this feeling - he was sure of it. He didn't understand why it would bother him so much... Then he knew - he _knew_ that anyone else would get the insane feeling to figure it out. It would eat away at them, gnawing on them so that they must know before it's too late...

But he couldn't begin to imagine how he could tell. The signs were so similar... He knew between Vivi, who he had met that fateful night walking home, and him and Elouise walking to Libby's that very same morning, there weren't many differences. Of course, their personalities were different - but that was to be said about everyone...

The thoughts made his brain hurt...

Blank shifted his gaze to his friend sitting at the table. So far, he hadn't even tried to be friendly to Dagger, who had walked into the room somewhere around five minutes ago, and immediately knew, from the lack of comment, that there was simply something off about the blonde.

A comfortable conversation, minus Zidane, filled the room with chortles and sighs about what happened and what's to come, and what was going on with everyone. Almost everyone partook in the conversation, glancing every once and a while to the blonde who sat before them.

His facial expressions varied from time to time, a scrunched look of disgusted to a peaceful look of longing. He didn't figit or move, or even contribute to the conversation, as he would normally be in the middle of it, trying his hardest to get everyone to laugh.

"Zidane!" There had been a slight moment of silence, and her soprano voice penetrated the bubble around the Genome.

"Hm?" He lazily took his chin out of his hand and looked at the girl, eyes barely focusing in.

"What's wrong?" She walked over and sat at the table, cocking her head to the side, eyes etched with concern.

"Ah nothing!" He swiped at the air, as though to gesture he had been perfectly normal all morning; the black haired teenager could only raise an eyebrow, "What?" He questioned, standing and taking an apple, "There isn't!"

He walked out of the room after that, no more smart remarks made. Dagger immediately turned around and raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong with him, Blank?"

It was just as Zidane began to walk out that everyone else did too, figuring there were more important things to be done than simply wandering aimlessly into everyone's lives.

Her hands crossed behind her back, secretly wringing the other out as she interrogated the redhead. He swung his legs back and forth, sitting on the counter, a juicy red apple being toyed with in his hands, moving back and forth, taking occasional breaks for him to bite into it.

She rocked back and forth on her heels, appearing to request the answer to an uncomplicated subject, and all the while act innocent in doing so.

He glanced around the kitchen, trying to find the right words. He couldn't simply tell Dagger what was bugging the boy, even if it was nibbling away at her slowly. The deep wood he was sitting on provided somewhat of a mysterious answer, strangely showing him he shouldn't explain the whole story, but couldn't lie to her.

"He's upset... That you know, things were fake," shaking his head, he got down, shot her a sympathetic and apologetic look because he couldn't tell her more, and shuffled out of the room, biting loudly and slightly obnoxiously into the fruit.

She sighed and followed him daintily, and a lot quieter, thinking there was training to be done for everyone, considering her team had two new people to become synchronized with in battle.

??

The velvety blades of grass created a ripping sound, tearing from the dirt they were anchored into. The hands that pulled them belonged to a being unaware of his evil crimes to nature. The mind was airy, and unalert to the things circling around him, in every day life. It was one body husk, without a mind in the right place and time for it to be complete and have spirit.

Scratching his dirty blonde hair, sapphire eyes scanned the area again for some sort of a sign he was supposed to participate. He didn't entirely want to, as his moves were sluggish and already displayed as a bad first impression for his new team, and he really didn't have a very thorough excuse.

"You're up, Zidane!" Blank called from across the field, and from Zidane's position in the plants, the grass was tall enough to almost completely camouflage him, despite his stand-out color.

Slowly getting to his feet, he unsheathed his dagger, and jerked his head up, forcing himself to pay attention to the task at hand.

"I'm excited to see your skill, Zidane," Freya's voice was loud, but still mysterious and quiet - a nice quality in herself, although the blonde couldn't tell if it was her race, or her personality.

"As I am to you, Freya!" He called, a truthful smile breaking onto his face for the first time that day.

"Give it your all!" She taunted, getting into her signature battle stance, her long spear sticking out over the grass, matching her tall frame.

He simply smirked, confidence erupting from no where. But as soon as the quick Bermecian flung herself toward Zidane, his reaction commands from his brain to his body were slowed, blurry and not clear. He barely missed her ferocious attack, the spear clobbering the grass, as his eyes widened at the speed. The several next moves were all quick and slim dodges made by Zidane, and swift motions in an attempt to line her spear with flesh from Freya.

The sun beat down on the blonde, panting every time he got the chance to take a breather. Freya's breathing was also slightly labored, but not to the extent of the teenager, dodging and swaying to his own dance, to cause the Bermecian to stumble.

"Freya's getting better..." Steiner nodded in approval.

"No..." Dagger mumbled, eyes squinted at the blonde struggling to keep up, "Zidane is being a bit off."

"Perhaps Freya was too much of a challenge to start with?" Beatrix questioned, her eyes turning to Dagger and Blank, who stood quite curious to the skill of the Genome.

Blank shook his head this time, turning only slightly to fix his gaze on both his best friend and the brunette woman awaiting an answer, "No, no... I mean, don't get me wrong, Freya's good, but he's not normally like this - he normally beats me, and I know most of his moves..."

All four of them looked on, wondering what in the world was up with him today.

"Shouldn't he be given a break?" Vivi questioned, his voice small in the grass, hardly tall enough for people to see unless they were standing near him.

"What do you mean, Master Vivi?" Steiner inquired.

"I know I'm upset too... I mean... The past five years of my life haven't really been my life. They're wasted, and I don't remember my life before it either. I'm sure I would be more upset if I had close friends like Zidane."

"Vivi has a point..." Dagger nodded, a thoughtful look stumbling across her face in a slightly calming manner.

"Give him some time," Blank pleaded, "he really isn't this treacherous when it comes to fighting -"

"I believe you, Blank," Beatrix lightly placed her hand on his shoulder and turned just in time to see Zidane fall in the grass and roll so Freya was temporarily blinded from her opponent.

He bit his lip. It would start to bother him if his best friend was letting his guard down because of these thoughts. Sighing, he gripped the hilt of his dagger and rotated his hand around it out of sheer habit. It made a slight squeak, but didn't bother anyone. His emerald eyes scanned the scene that played out in front of him, as though it were a play, and he was determined to get the blonde's mind off of it.

??

After the long day of pointless training was over, and Zidane had somehow managed to bathe, he shook his head, now darker hair plastered to his face. He dried his head with his shirt that was slung over his arm, as he quietly walked towards his room.

Opening the rickety, wooden door, he dared make a sound as he moved about his room, trying to find a dry match for a candle, but a brightness that came from the hallway illuminated the room.

It wasn't a very large room, with a double bed and tapestries that hung over it, so he could pull it shut incase he wanted privacy, but even those weren't very delectable. The few belongings he had acquired over the past couple weeks were placed spaciously in the tiny room, in an attempt to make it seem more like home than having everything cluttered into one spot.

It wasn't much, but he had managed to salvage some of his things from the Tantalus crew, who still had their items aboard Prima Vista.

"Need a light?" Dagger asked, her voice light, and slightly cheerful.

He shook his head, trying to get the excess water out of his hair, and allowed his shirt to drop onto the chest at the foot of his bed, "Thanks... I was having trouble finding my matches."

"Not a problem," she smiled and placed the candle in it's metal holder down on his wooden table, and placed something else there too; of course it slipped past his eyes, but she thought he might appreciate it when he saw it as it would add to his room of zero clutter.

He smiled fondly at her, as she made her way out, watching as the light sunk away from her petite form, clad in only her pajamas. Her long locks of raven black hair cascaded down her back, the clip missing from the end. She still wore her white undershirt, but with pants instead of her yellow outfit. He assumed it was a lot comfier that way.

Dropping onto his bed and kicking off his shoes, he settled into the blankets of the mattress in such a perfect way. Or perhaps it wasn't precise, but it was just a high enough level of satisfaction because he was so exhausted from the day.

Crossing his arms behind his head, he stared upwards towards the cloth hanging over his bed, his legs limply at the mattress material. Closing his eyes, he thought of the slightly ironic situation.

Not even a month ago, he was lying in this same position, in the bed he thought he had come to know quite well, in a reality he had no idea wasn't real. Allowing his body to adjust to a different position, he knew now that it wasn't the same, and it wouldn't be the same, and it really bothered him.

It was such the same feeling - he had gone to bed in that position, and woken up somewhere completely different, which started an almost new beginning to his life.

But it left the old remains around to haunt him.

??

**A/N: Ooo... So even though that chapter wasn't very interesting, I liked it a fair amount :D I hope you all did too, and I'm looking forward to what you think! Please review, I know for some of you it's hard to understand, but I write for your purposes of entertainment, as well as mine, and I want to know what you think!**

**-zesty-**


	14. Chapter 13: A Little Joking Never Hurt

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: Well... I'm really excited for the next chapters to come - they get really good from here, Promise!! Lol... It's definitely going to be interesting to see how this all plays out!! Hope you're all loving the story as much as I am!**

**Disclaimer: Though I wish I owned this, sadly I don't. This would be the coolest game by far to own though.**

**Quick Random Thought: I'm super tired, but I really want to write this :D**

**Chapter 13: A Little Joking Never Hurt**

The steel cut through the air, slicing it with a whipping noise created by the motion of it all. An unfortunate blade of grass was sliced at the top, forever being shorter than the ones surrounding it.

"So you just move up, in a real quick motion!" The voice was light - more happy than before; for that, many people were greatful.

A few different people watched in a delight and amusement, a black mage learning to fight wasn't something people saw every day. He himself was already very unique, but to see him not hiding behind his spells was an even bigger treat.

The day was a picture perfect one. It seemed as though everyone was happy, and all problems melted away. Groups were coming back from their missions and having the story explained to them about Zidane Tribal and Vivi Orunitia being dreamers who had enough power to awaken, and find Dagger's team.

The weather rapidly alternated from cloudy, the sun blocked from the giant fluffy billows, white as snow, to sunny, where the rays struck everything in it's path, making short, to no, to long shadows as the day was to move forward.

The people of Dali even seemed to be in a better mood. The misfortunes from a while back seemed to be slowly fading away. Although there was still grief floating through the air, it seemed like the daughter, who had lost her mother in a horrific situation of misfortunes, stayed with her grandmother. She was old, but cared so dearly about her small family that she insisted on being the best she could, even in her frail state.

The resistance wasn't on edge as much, and everyone who had been bitter about the guards crossing close to their boarders had gone away on a mission, not to return for a few days. It was a good break, having the swirl of curiousity and delight at their new human weapons back in the air, just as there had been when they first arrived back from Alexandria.

The rest of the Tantalus crew returned, and they had idle conversations about everything and anything. They tried sword fighting and a few joking monotones and skits to cheer everyone up. Zidane took part in them too, and slowly the feeling if awkwardness was slipping away, as though he had never been away from them at all.

Vivi slowly was getting better at using his staff, and on days like that, the optimistic attitude radiating from him was enough to make anyone smile and feel motivated.

The next time, only a few seconds before the steel, a wooden pole sliced the air. The same piece of tall, jade grass, crumpled and folded, crippled, never to stand straight again.

"Like that?" The voice was questioning and unsure, although not enough to ruin what the owner had going.

"Yes! Vivi! You're catching on!" Zidane laughed, eyes bright with triumph; no one thought he would be able to teach Vivi, having just gotten back into the swing of things himself, but now he had proof that he was a better fighter and a better teacher than everyone gave him credit for.

The black mage clapped his hands together, glee filling his whole being. He hopped around a little in the plants, unforunately tripping on some vengeful grass, and falling face first into the dirt. For a moment, everyone stopped, concern overtaking their features, but Vivi soon rolled over, laughing almost hysterically.

This caused Zidane to laugh, and prance to the other side of him, extending a hand to help him up, only to trip as well. The most ironic part was that he never normally tripped on things, and was in the line of fire for this grass no one seemed to notice.

He fell almost on top of the mage, and from the plants erupted great hoots of laughter, causing their audience to giggle and chortle with them. Out of nowhere, a red figure lept into view, conjuring an expression of pure shock on the blonde as his best friend tackled him.

Vivi tried to roll away, but was forced into the fray as Cinna, Marcus, Zenero, and Benero came tramping over, joining the monkey pile. Everyone laughed and fooled around, pushing each other, and rolling around, doing flips and jumping to avoid hits.

At one point, Dagger was called over to join them, and hesitantly, she walked over, seeing if she could get them to stop being so immature. But Zidane was allowed to get on his knees, wrap his arms around her waist and yank her down into the grass. That's when the bystanders lost view of the girl, her squeals rising about the grass.

On the wind, it was thought someone asked the dark haired girl if she was tickilish, and it erupted into a fight with each other again, minus Dagger. She laughed the most - having been tickled. Quina, hearing all the noise coming from the field, bounded over, allowing himself to cannonball into the mess of people, his tongue flying about trying to lick people, too excited to control himself.

"I haven't seen all of them so immature in a long time," Beatrix commented to Steiner, who wasn't really paying attention to who was in it, or what was going on in the grass.

"Hm?" He asked, taking his eyes off the dirt in front of him to look at the brunette.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "You really don't listen, do you? I know what Dagger means now."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" He demanded somewhat loudly, "I swear Beatrix sometime I am just going to..." He trailed off, not knowing what exactly he was going to finish that sentence with.

It seemed that he did that a lot. He'd leave sentences hanging in fear of him confessing his love to the younger female. He didn't want it to ruin what competitive friendship he had with her after all these years, trying to look after Dagger, and trying to rub off on her the best. In the end, Beatrix had won, and Steiner had only started getting her to see things his way when she became independent.

And on top of that fact, he didn't want their missions to become harder. He wasn't sure if that was a thing that slightly older people would have to worry about, but he did know he wasn't willing to take the chance. If Beatrix had no idea, no matter how many hints he attempted to drop (they must not have been good ones), he wasn't about to tell her.

Staring at the woman made her turn away to hide the blush on her cheeks. She hated when he did that - simply stared at her.

She wasn't sure why, but it always made her self conscious. It was such a teenage feeling to have, but she seemed to feel something when she was around Steiner, only at specific times, she seemed to have lost over the years. Emotions were hard to come by in hard times like that, so she wasn't sure what to think of it.

In some ways, Beatrix knew she thought she might be in love with Steiner. She had known him for more than a decade, and she was certain it was something more than a friendship she wanted, but it didn't matter. She wouldn't screw up whatever she had with him, and risk the chance of them becoming bias during missions simply for each other.

There were more important tasks at hand, and that's the excuse she told herself to turn away from the man in silver armor, and walk away, ready to go get food for the new arrivals who returned.

Steiner shook his head. Who was he kidding? Beatrix couldn't ever love him back, and with that he turned back to the game played in the grass, envying just how easily all of them could get along. He was getting older, and it made it all the harder to laugh, seeing what war truly did to the world.

He took one last glance at Beatrix's retreating figure before turning the other direction, mumbling something to no one in particular, that he was going to go find Cid and talk to him about any upcoming missions to be had.

??

"They sure do change the mood around here..." Dagger commented quietly, as her and Blank carried barrels of supplies from a deep room in the hideout.

"I certainly didn't expect any of the kind of responses from the people we did get to come back... I guess I became paranoid from Darious and the guy with the nub."

"You mean Storks?"

"Was that his name?" Blank chuckled, "See? He's so unimportant no one even knows who he is - why should he have a say in anything that goes on with us and the dreamers."

"He's just as much part of this resistance as we are, you have to remember," she informed, her superior knowledge overthrowing Blank's grudge, "I know we've lost a lot, but think about him... He no longer has a right arm."

This made Blank chuckle. He had expected her to lecture him, chastising him until he apologized for his statement, but he didn't know she'd make a joke on it.

"You know... Zidane is rubbing off on you."

"What?" She asked, slightly baffled.

"Yeah..." He shrugged, allowing his eyes to wander around their dim passage of stone and rotting wood.

They would really need to fix the place up, and it made him shutter thinking about what could happen if it decided to collapse on them. To stop the dizzying feeling creeping into his head, he looked down at the oak barrel he was carrying, watching his fingers unconsciously tap against it as they walked.

"What do you mean he's 'rubbed off' on me? I'm sixteen and -"

"Don't go all freedom fighter on me now, Dagger..." He grinned at his own pun, "I'm simply stating that you've changed a little since Zidane has got here..." He mockingly gasped, a sudden assumption entering his mind that he would bring up as a joke, no matter his opinion on the subject, "I think you like him."

She almost dropped the barrel, and if her expression had read one step more hilarious than it seemed to be, her movements jerky, her breath ragged with disbelieve he would even purpose such an idea, he would have died from the laughter.

At one point, he had to set the barrel down. He didn't want to risk letting the supplies go to waste simply because he was hooting at her reaction. Her cheeks shown a deep crimson, even in the poor lighting. She was completely embarassed.

"I do _not_ like him!" She huffed, beginning to walk again.

Her tone of voice and words, gestures adding even more, made the joke all the more funny. He would have to let someone else in on it, explaining why he was tearing up with no sorrow around him.

"Why did you just get so defensive?" He couldn't help but say it with a chuckle in his voice.

"I didn't!" She insisted, causing him to laugh even deeper.

"If that wasn't devensiveness, then I don't know what is anymore..." He mumbled, purposely loud enough for her to hear.

"Well it was a silly thing to bring up. I don't understand why you would even try and speak that way."

"Then, you take your tone you've learned from him, how to joke on the cruel things in life, and how to speak less thought out and turn it around, acting all formal and royalty like."

She shot him a glare that told him to drop the subject; she simply did not want to be made fun of anymore.

Dagger tried to tell herself as she walked, her heeled ankle length boots clicking under her, that she did not find any attraction towards the blonde at all. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that was untrue. What kind of attraction did she feel? She had no idea. It could have been a crush, like, love, just an attraction to his personality, looks, perhaps even lust. As she walked into the main area, a scrounged up living room in a sort, he was 'sitting' there with Marcus and Cinna, in a contest to see who could hold a handstand longest.

He was at a disadvantage, hands sunk into the lavender cushions of the old, torn couch. Cinna was cheating, his legs bent, feet flat against the wall, although his arms shook at the weight he was trying to support. Marcus' hands were flat on the stone, trying to find his center of balance, every so often looking to Zidane hoping to find answers there.

She wondered if maybe she _did_ like him - despite how angry she got on the subject, and despite how much Blank thought he had just come up with a really grand joke... She thought there was always a possiblity.

When her mind finally made a decision, Cinna fell off the wall, Marcus losing his balance and toppling over, trying to land on his teammate for a laugh. Zidane still stood, perfect balance, and pin - point precise form, chuckling slightly, wracking his body with slight shakes, at the two others.

"Showoff..." Marcus mumbled, rolling his eyes and grinning at Blank, "Having fun, Blank?"

"A blast, Marcus!" He grinned wickedly at Dagger, earning yet another scoff he did not care about, "I've got a wonderful joke I need to fill you in on later though. You and Cinna only... Sorry Zidane, you're not included."

"Probably something I wouldn't understand anyways..."

"For once..." Marcus muttered again, only to get hit in the head with a throw pillow Zidane had managed to whip at him, still on his hands, getting sucked into the furniture.

With that, they left the room, yet another small fight exploding; Dagger could only smile.

_Okay, so Blank's joke wasn't so far off after all... _

??

**A/N: Okay! I know that was kind of uneventful, but I thought you'd appreciate me showing you just how much Zidane and Vivi seem to fit in with everyone now.**

**I hope you enjoyed :D I know it seemed a little random, but I thought it was good anyways. YOU let me know what YOU think!**

**Review!**

**-zesty-**


	15. Chapter 14: You'd Do The Same

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: I'm excited for this chapter - it finally begins to pick up right here! You guys should like it too lol. After the kind of pointless half fluff and relationship showing chapter, it's some action once more!**

**Disclaimer: I WISH I owned it. Lol only the game and a memory card holding my game data.**

**Quick Random Thought: If they remade the game, I bet they'd make Blank super sexy.**

**Chapter 14: You'd Do The Same**

The night was a loud one. Thunder crashed in the sky like cymbals, water draining into the dirt, soaking it until it morphed into mud. The liquid pelted the buildings, creating a loud background rush, while lightning chains flitted through the sky, illuminating the ominous dark, and even deeper shadows.

The rumbling from the skies above, thunderhead clouds tall and almost black, caused dirt to crumble onto the dark stone with the forceful shakes of the ground.

It seemed that everyone, some how, was still able to get at least a nod of sleep. All except one person. He kept in his room, watching his belongings shake and quiver with the booming overhead.

Closing his eyes, flashes of Elouise washed through his mind, sending him into an ocean of depression. He had had a dream about her the night before, all of his glee from the days prior of teaching the black mages to fight was completely obliterated...

??

_"Zidane..." The whisper was hoarse, and he wasn't sure where it was coming from._

_Twitching slightly, he turned around, walking blindly in the darkness, pupils big, eyes wide, "Elouise! Where are you? Thank _God_ you're alright! I've been trying to find you -" Suddenly lights flickered on and what he saw was horrible._

_In the easiest way to put it, it was his prior best friend, skin pale, blood pouring out of her side like a pump flowing water in jagged squirts. Her breathing was raspy, eyes huge with fear, as she snatched at the air, in an attempt to get the blonde to move closer._

_As quickly as he could, he knelt next to her, the blood the last thing on his mind, "Who did this to you, Elouise?" He questioned, his eyes becoming wet with salty tears._

_He hadn't cried before in his life, and he never intended to, but seeing the girl in such a state, her whole being shattered to an insignificant and soon-to-be husk shook him._

_"Rescue me..." Were the faint words that floated to his ears, brisk and urgent, although strained and unclear._

_The light left her eyes slowly draining the left of her life as it vanished, eyelashes fluttering shut , hand going limp in his own. Her skin was like ice, bone chilling and scary._

_"Elouise what do you mean?" He shook her violently, the blood leaking still from the wound, the sticky substance washing over and staining his gloves. "_Please _Elouise! You mustn't die! I need to know how to save you! You're right in front of me!"_

_From that point forward, the blonde girl's, Avalanch's, Vienna's, and Griffon's voices all filled his head. It made it swim, a hazy feeling washing over him, making him want to collapse. As soon as he did so, something more numbing but still slightly flinch-worthy shot through his body, making him writhe on the floor._

??

That's simply when he woke up. He knew from that dream, there was something telling him - some sort of strange source of magic, that was pulling him... He needed to save Elouise...

He knew that there was still a slim chance she wasn't real, but that type of dream wasn't something he was going to ignore. Biting his lip, he knew that there was a possibility if he went through with this, things would go wrong.

Wringing his hands, he stood and began to pace, the thunder still shaking his possessions. He expected no one would be awake at this hour, being proven wrong with a jolt as someone tapped lightly on his door. He flung the poorly made wooden piece open, to see Dagger standing there, a little nervously.

"What are you doing awake?" He questioned, though he sounded rather accusative - as though she would try and spoil his plans to leave.

"I've just been thinking about you..." When he raised an eyebrow, a blush crept to her face, "I _mean_, I've been thinking about how much it bothers you - that you don't know if your friends are alive?" Her delicate fingers slide over each other - a habit she had when she was nervous.

"What about it?" He wondered, not trying to sound harsh.

She sighed and walked into the room, whether being invited or not: it was a sheer habit of never being rejected - especially when she was stressed. Though Zidane didn't actually mind at all.

"I just..." she bit her lip, "I know what it's like you know... Not knowing if people you care about are okay or not..." She trailed, as though the subject was a touchy one for her.

Zidane didn't know of any family Dagger had, or whether they were in the resistance, or somewhere she wasn't able to see them... But he did know that he wasn't about to ask her about it - especially if she seemed so uncomfortable bringing it up. Though he thought so for different reasons than were true, though there was no possible way of him knowing that.

She traced her boot on the rotting wooden floor - another attempt to make the place seem more homey - as her dark eyes darted around the room, looking at the small amount of possessions he featured on the shelf space.

"But... I don't do anything rash about it, Zidane..."

He crossed his arms: this was what it was... Of course - her warning not to do anything dumb...

"I've thought about it of course, and you have no idea how long - ever since I was a little girl - that this has bothered me so... I know that even to this day, sometimes it'll creep up in my mind when I'm alone, and know that there's nothing I can do... I feel completely helpless, and I know that's what you must be feeling as well... But I just don't want to see you get hurt."

She saved herself with that last comment, but still the Genome refused to speak.

"Zidane..." She placed her hand on his, crossed in his arms, as she leaned against the old pine table in his room, more like a log than a piece of furniture.

"Thanks for your concern, Dagger..." He hugged her, making her hand slip off the wood, though surprising enough it didn't catch on any threatening splinters of misshapen tree. He noticed nothing different though, as thunder rumbled away from them for such a long time. "Thank you..."

She pulled back, a light blush, unnoticeable in the intense darkness, spreading across her face. She turned around, "Good night, Zidane..."

"Goodbye... Dagger..." He watched her go, though didn't miss the confused glance she shot at him... Why the choice of goodbye, verse goodnight? She would figure it out sometime later... The only thing she knew is that she had easily halted him from making a choice that could cost him his life.

??

Items were being tossed nonchalantly into a back, though the trembling of the hand that carried them showed things were not calm about what was racing through his mind at this moment in time.

It was unbelievable, what he was about to do, and it baffled even him that he was thinking about it. He had been warned, in more than one way, that he was not going to do anything dumb... But that sure changed quickly. He knew he would be in trouble, he knew that no one would be happy with him - perhaps even finding anger within themselves to direct towards him, but the funny thing was... he didn't actually care at that period of time.

He looked up for a moment, making sure he didn't see light in the cracks of the door. What he was doing had to be completely secret if he wanted to make it out without interference. Again, his sapphire eyes were shifted down, his shaking hands trying to zip up the bag as quick as possible. He glanced around the room, trying to see if anything else was worth taking - encase he needed it.

That's when, by the over-used candle, wax all over the holder it was stuck in, he saw what Dagger had left for him. It was a beautiful, smooth piece of garnet. It glittered lightly, even with the lack of light to reflect off of it. The chunk of it was rough on one side, where it was apparently broken in half. Raising an eyebrow suspiciously, he saw how hastily the pendant was placed on the thin rope.

Dagger had given it to him sometime when he hadn't noticed... It must have been the beginning of her concern. From the talk they had had about an hour earlier, he realized that she had been worried for a long time that he was going to leave. The necklace had been that she wanted him back safely if he had gone... He was sure of that - her nature was precisely that way...

But that last attempted had been to make him not endanger himself at all... It was a plea for him not to get hurt, and for him to stay where she would know he wasn't going to get into any trouble. Shaking his head, he understood now that he could not comply to that request - to stay exactly where she wanted him to. As much as he hated the thought of upsetting her, he pulled the rop around his neck, allowing the gem to dangled in front of him.

He would take it, and give it back to her - to piece together with whatever small bit of garnet she had left in her possession. Giving it back to her would be a sign that he came back without harm... It was a promise he just made to himself - a promise that made him a little less nervous to travel out of the safety of the rebellion.

He reflected slightly on how it would affect everyone. Most would be angry with him no doubt, especially Steiner. Dagger, from the signs he finally understood, would be upset that he did not heed her warning or her request, but what about Vivi? The poor kid would be so confused. Him and Zidane had been the only ones in the whole mess - the only ones that _truly_ understood each other at this point in their journey...

Would he understand that Zidane needed to make the venture alone? Would he be upset he wasn't invited? Or would he only be on the verge of dreaded tears because they only had each other, if one looked at it at quite that way, and they had been together through the start of this mess... But then, what would happen when Zidane was gone? Would Vivi even have a leg to stand on?

Like paper being shredded, his thoughts were scattered as footsteps were heard outside his door. He figured they were too close to hide, but prayed whoever it was knocked before entering. Unfortunately for the blonde, that just wasn't the case. Blank walked in (of course there wasn't a knock to help him out), eyes suspicious.

"You're awake?"

"You ever learn to knock?" Zidane spoke in a surprisingly calm manner, and it shocked even himself that he could try and joke at such a stressful time as this.

The redhead nodded towards his bag, "What are you doing?" When Zidane didn't answer right away, anger flared in Blank's eyes, though the blonde wasn't aware of it, "Zidane!" He snarled, his legs and arms spread, as though acting as a human block so that his best friend could not get through.

The blonde stood staring at the wall, wishing at that moment they weren't in the safety of underground so he could break through a window, or something of the sort. His shaking hands tensed into fists, then released, and dangled, quivering at his side, before the process repeated itself. He was constantly licking his lips, opening his mouth to defend himself, before shutting it again, resembling a goldfish. His repetitive nature caused his anger to brighten inside his head.

He whipped around, eyes instinctively blinking when his hair whipped him in the face, "You don't understand!" He had to contain himself so he didn't yell and attract anyone else to the scene.

"I understand well enough to know that what you're doing is insane suicide and cannot be permitted!" Blank jerked forward, almost trying to threaten his friend nonverbally.

"You don't know what I'm going through! You can't make that decision for me!"

"You're part of something now, Zidane," he tried to get through to the taller thief, "don't you understand that? You can't make rash decisions anymore, especially with zero support!"

"I can't just sit here and do nothing! They're the people I've spent my _life_ with for the last five years! I cannot let them keep suffering, and wake up to find only confusion and pain! I can't _do_ that!" He was on the verge of yelling now, a lot of emotion packed into his, what he hoped, forceful words.

"That's taking a mighty chance! It's not worth your life, man! Think!" Blank was flailing his hands about, making a scene that resembled something of a tantrum.

"You would do the same thing!" Zidane declared, quietly and menacingly; he knew that got under the redhead's skin.

There was silence for a moment, expect the thunder rolling above them. The candle's flame, flickering and dancing about, seemed to mock them - that was noise enough for Blank to reply.

"You can't go alone."

"I can't ask you to come with me..."

"Then I'll follow at your side."

"That sounds like kidnap..."

"You kind of have..." Blank let on a small smile, being defeated in only one line. Though he was angry, the blonde had a _complete_ point - the emerald eyed man couldn't possibly sit back if he had known that Zidane was there, and that he could save him...

"We're leaving in five... I'm going to get some food..." He passed the redhead, but stopped and turned, placing a gloved hand, now steady with confidence when he had someone on his side, on his best friend's shoulder, "Thank you..."

??

The night was a loud one. Thunder crashed in the sky like cymbals, water draining into the dirt, soaking it until it morphed into mud. The liquid pelted the buildings, creating a loud background rush, while lightning chains flitted through the sky, illuminating the ominous dark, and even deeper shadows.

The rumbling from the skies above, thunderhead clouds tall and almost black, the blonde to think of something that unnerved him thoroughly. As he sprinted across open field of slippery mud, and greasy grass, glancing every so often at the redhead trying to keep his balance all the same running next to him, he thought about what would happen, though with his thoughts, he figured something even worse out.

The future, the consequences, and the outcome of this plan were just like the weather... Completely unpredictable...

??

**A/N: I don't know if it would make much sense to apologize. It's been so long... Much too long in fact... :( But you see... When my USB decided to start deleting stuff from it, along with it went half of this chapter. Inspiration struck me **_**only**_** today after looking at it so many times in the past. I think now that I really want some readers, though I can't complain - it's my own fault if no one reads this anymore.**

**:) I have the next two chapters written... Of course THOSE didn't delete... Oh the irony :)**

**Review please!**

**-zesty-**


	16. Chapter 15: Shocking Discoveries

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: Wow... I sure haven't written THIS story in a while. I have a new obsession. Wonderful Final Fantasy 12 ahahahahah!!!!**

**Disclaimer: I down own it, though I wish I did. Blank. Yum.**

**Quick Random Thought: I just saw Harry Potter - first day out at 12:02 A.M IT WAS AWESOME!!**

**Chapter 15: Shocking Discovery**

There were a lot of different things Zidane was sure of in his life.

There were things like his strong bond with his best friends... That he was absolutely sure was true. Their hold together, and the fact that he and Blank, for example, would do anything for each other was an absolute one hundred percent, and there was no way around that. It might take everything to get it done, but they were sure in the end, they would show through whatever roadblock was put in front of him. Them being reunited after a catastrophe that happened five years ago was sure proof of that assumption.

The second was that he was completely at a lost at what was going on, still even after the months he had spent with the rebellion, but that he would fight with them no matter _what_ happened. It was obvious that everyone wanted things back to normal, as he had snuck into Treno once again with the Tantalus (even including Blank) crew to get some supplies not so long ago, and seen the people and how they acted when they _knew_ they were resistance members. There was a certain something in the air that seemed to leak into the blonde's skin that said they _must_ do whatever they could in order to help these people, and themselves. It was only right for how long everyone had been working at it. It was only right they that do everything in their power to help.

Another being the people he was thrown with were the people he was sure he would stay with, even if his friends turned out to be real. Despite the glares from Steiner, and the professional nature from Beatrix, the vibe from other members that they thought he was an idiot, and the bothering and irritating habits people did that really pissed him off, he was completely okay with them. He loved to mess around with his old friends, and couldn't stand not seeing Dagger for a day. It killed him when Vivi was upset over something he didn't want to ask about, and angered him to the highest extent when they were distressed about the situation. He could only guess - not having been part of the struggle for as long as them - being five years behind.

But as he ran across the field, slipping and sliding on the wet and squeaky grass, he knew there was something that he was about to attempt that was very unnerving, and he didn't _know_ if he was sure of it or not. On one hand, it seemed as though it would be the smartest thing he had ever tried, and for that he was extremely grateful. That spark of confidence was what he needed to not turn around and run back to the safety to the house underground - to Dali... To Dagger, and Vivi, and Quina - everyone...

On the other hand, he was so unsure, he kept glancing backwards, biting his lip, thinking it over in his mind, almost stopping Blank and telling him that they should go back. This could very much so get them killed. It could even do worse - it could kill Blank and not kill Zidane. They could be tortured for information, and although they wouldn't tell anyone where anything was, or who they knew of that was in the rebellion, or _anything_ it was the fact that he would be alive, and not with the people he cared so much about. It was the fact that he would inevitably fail them, but not having the excuse of death to fall back on. It was the fact that nobody would forgive him, because he put his own life in danger, and not to mention he put a valued member's life in danger as well.

It was one thing, he figured, as they stopped at a steep hill, ready to run through the ice cavern in front of them, freezing for less than an hour if they hurried, if he were to do this alone, but it was another thing... If he allowed Blank to come with him. The redhead, again and again since they had left and raced across the field, dodging the rain and lightning chaining and whipping from the air, assured Zidane that they would make it back, so no one would have a reason to be angry with the Genome for taking the redhead with him.

Of course, Zidane, being the over thinker he was, and looking over the obvious facts and oblivious points, didn't buy it...

"We have to hurry in here..." Blank's voice broke through Zidane's reverie, "We're so wet we'll freeze in our place if we don't make a break for it..."

The blonde could only nod, reassuring Blank he wouldn't fail - not this early in the game anyways. As they walked in, the temperature dropped tremendously, and they were still by the door. It was cold outside, but the inside of the cave was like a freezer that hadn't opened in years.

As quickly as they could without slipping completely off the edge, as the bottoms of their shoes touched the snow they had already froze from being wet, they raced down the natural spiral ramp leading further into the cave, trying in vain to stay at a regular temperature. Blank had warned him he had heard stories of this place. Though he had only been through it a few times, and it was a long time ago (they had adopted the boat - much faster, much warmer), he knew to confirm the stories others scoffed at. The worst part about the next section of the cave was there was so much potential of falling asleep. At first, Zidane looked at him like he were crazy, not quite believing his plight, but as they ran on as best they could, the snow molding around their shoes as they stepped, his unconscious mind slowly made him believe it.

They had slowed down - that much was certain - but it was the worry that they would completely stop. It was dangerous - more dangerous than normal with them being wet - to go through the caves when it was so dark and cold outside. It only made it icier _inside_, but they trudged forward, relying on the other to make them keep going.

With the wind blowing at them, as it seemed to change direction to go against the people walking through it, it was a challenge to keep walking. Blank's knee locked, and as he stumbled, he fell into the snow, suddenly finding a peaceful and warm sanctuary where he was. The back of his mind was screaming at him to get up, knowing he was about to fall asleep, but the warmth was so nice he couldn't think about it enough to follow through.

Zidane turned around, azure eyes widening to see his best friend fallen in the snow. He hadn't known how long he was there, but he checked back every so often - this time more spaced out from the last. He had every intention on keeping him safe, but had more trust in Blank failing after him than he should have. The blonde allowed the wind to help him ride back to his friend, he yanked him out of the snow, and threw him over his shoulder. He was asleep for now, but Zidane would try and find refuge once they got out of the cave - they wouldn't take the same way back. He saw now it was too dangerous to bring two people through that were wet with storm. They would swim the river if they had to...

After what seemed like a long time, and then degrees higher than the last section, he broke into a completely silent place that glittered with crystals and snow iced into the ground. It was a miracle the place had any beauty, going through that wretched place. Wincing, he shifted Blank on his shoulder so he could walk down the icy steps. This was going to be the hardest part of their journey, he ventured, knowing quite well from Blank's explanation on the way they would go that the evil forest wasn't going to be difficult with their advanced skills. It would almost be like simply walking through it - though they would have to be on their toes if they didn't want trouble.

He figured then, as he finally saw the exit to the cave, almost letting out a yelp of delight and victory, he couldn't have done this without the redhead. Of course, he might have found it eventually, or gotten lost and captured; it was a fifty-fifty chance for each of them. Grimacing at the thought, he walked through the doors to see it had stopped raining for the moment. Even though the chill from the outside was still great, it was far less so than before.

Setting the shorter thief on the ground, he shook him a few times to try and get him to wake up. If he didn't, it wasn't a big deal, but it was quite unnerving to Zidane to see his best friend passed out, having to move forward either without him, or him on his back. It would make it slightly difficult in Alexandria.

The name pained him. That place had meant the world to him, not even three months ago, but it slipped further and further to the back of his mind. This idea that his friends could still be suffering and not knowing the truth was a harsh one, eating away at him for as long as he could remember (which wasn't necessarily long, but enough for Zidane), and the blonde needed to know. The place was the harbor of evil, and he was endangering his best friend for as long as _all_ of his memories told him, and yet, he was too selfish to not allow himself to go insane with the idea.

Figuring he probably didn't want to piss Blank off, he threw him over his shoulder again, shifting his weight so it was well on his shoulder, and started to go again, knowing quite well if the redhead woke up, he might be a smidge angry anyways. Shrugging the best he could with one shoulder weighed down, he tried to navigate on his own where to go next. Of course, looking for a forest was one thing, but if he was too far away he most likely wouldn't see it. There was a lot of flat land, a luscious jade, and not to mention long and sleek, grass lay out in front of them.

He couldn't use the eeriness of the sky as he once did, last time he had completely left Alexandria, on his way with the others to Dali, as the clouds spread across the vast sky, making it clearly impossible for a sense of direction by the stars. The night was a dark one, and he stumbled around on the grass, suddenly feeling rather alone. Blank didn't seem like he was going to wake up very soon, and that made him rather uncomfortable - what if he reached Alexandria and the redhead was _still_ not awake.

Shaking his head, he knew he should just pick a direction and stick with it. It was a long time before he saw the outline of trees and a large fallen rock. It was by this description he knew he had reached the forest. Before entering, he carefully laid the redhead down, and placed his back against the rock. Closing his eyes, he crossed his arms over his wet frame, breathing in the scent of the growing nature, though it was tainted with the ominous senses of the forest. He felt as though he were being watched, which made it harder to catch a break and fall asleep. He didn't have a fire to warm either of them, or any blankets or food to try and provide with... A thought suddenly struck him that if Blank didn't wake up, there was a possibility he would be sick and _die..._

It was an over paranoid thought, but it was also Zidane's over-active imagination, so one couldn't really blame him. Shaking Blank violently, he whispered in the darkness, not feeling keen on having his voice echo throughout the area.

"Blank! Wake up!" A few more shakes and he received a groan from his friend; again he could have leapt with joy.

"What happened?" He groggily asked, his form rolling over, huddling into a tightly knit ball to try and warm up.

"You fell asleep in the cavern..."

"What?" He shot up, his eyes wide, though Zidane couldn't see it; the rest of his expression spoke for them. "I fell asleep? Where are we? How did we get here? Did you too?"

The question bombardment was completely expected, but the Genome still took in a breath to calm himself down, as he was just as nervous as he had been before, if not more from experiencing the dark alone, "We're outside the Evil Forest, I carried you, and no I didn't fall asleep."

A pure expression of shock overtook Blank's face, his mouth hanging slightly open. Zidane, slightly weirded out by his expression, fisted his hand, and lightly pushed his best friend's chin up, shutting his mouth making a slight clink of his teeth in doing so. Though the rest of his expression was still the same (even if the blonde couldn't see his eyes), he shook his head.

"Let's just get going? I mean, you woke up now, so..." He trailed off, looking at the forest with doubt.

Shaking out of his dumbfounded state, he turned and traced Zidane's line of sight, "It won't be that bad... Trust me, and then right on the other side basically is Alexandria. It's going to be simple..." He nodded and got up, walking inside, Zidane following at his heels.

??

"Do you remember where to go?" Blank whispered, his eyes darting around nervously.

Before they had gotten to Alexandria, it all seemed surreal. He almost thought it a game, although dangerous to play, it wasn't as though they could really get caught or hurt. Entering Alexandria, the feeling slightly melted away. It was slow, yes, but at the same time entering the castle and having the feeling of dread surround him was far worse. He would take the tipsy feeling between reality and fantasy versus the thought of his best friend and him dying. It wasn't a wonderful feeling at all to have.

The blonde shot him a look that didn't help to reassure him. He kind of figured from the beginning Zidane was so jumbled when he ran into them that he couldn't possibly remember, but in his heart he had a bit of false hope. That was all washed away with that certain expression. He swallowed a groan threatening to release itself and make more noise than necessary. This could be a rather long, dangerous, and painful mission.

Closing his eyes, he followed the blonde down the hall, sticking to the side of the wall without the light, and flinging the both of them through it as quickly and stealthily as he could when there was no way around it. For the first time in his life, light was making him nervous and giving him more of a dreaded feeling than not.

As their boots lightly tapped on the stone on the floor, a shudder was sent down his spine, illuminating his senses with a numbness he really didn't understand. He had this _feeling_ that this certainly wasn't going to end well - but there was no turning back now. It was now or never, and he knew he couldn't change the blonde's mind, even if he felt the same way.

Ever so slowly, they made their way into dead ends and wrong turns, almost getting themselves caught by black mages and guards all the same a few times as well. But, as they slowly made their way, they heard voices, and that's what lead Zidane to a new door; he prayed it didn't squeak. Blank flinched anyways, hoping he didn't make too big of a motion to see.

Of course it was another wrong turn...

But it wasn't a turn they ducked away from so quickly. As both of them peeked their eyes inside the dimly lit room, they listened in on a few guards talking. Beer kegs were all around them, a few toppled over - seemingly empty. The dark oak cups were filled to the brim, and within a few seconds of time, completely empty again. But it wasn't the drinking guards that they were so interested in... It was their conversation.

"Aye, I dun believe they getta be confushed much longer..."

"I think... The dreamersh aren't very good fightersh... They shouldn't be ushed... They jisht mindlessh dronesh not ta be missed, eh?"

"Anymur beer Shindy?"

"Aye... You want shome?" He stumbled to get up, and shakily swiped his giant cup under the keg, splashing beer everywhere.

"You think anyun'll know?" The guard still sitting in the splintered, old chair shifted and the legs creaked with the weight and pressure.

"Nah. Nah one in thish cashtle drinksh anyway..."

"True... True..." He grinned stupidly, taking the pint and clunking it against his buddy's, and then tipped up the glass. Blank had to _pull_ Zidane away. He wanted the information so much that he couldn't possibly let the guards go back to drinking without an eavesdropper. It was lucky that the redhead figured no more talking would be done about the dreamers.

"Let me go!" He struggled.

"Shut up!" Blank hissed, slamming both of them up against the wall, slipping into a crevice, and yanking Zidane in as well.

A few guards walked by, and shoved open the door into the room they were just recently spying on. Yelling and some clanking of kegs, glasses, and armor rolled together in an eruption of a fight. Blank winced listening to it, "Let's go look somewhere else..."

They both (though Zidane grudgingly) ran off in the other direction, taking a turn they were sure they hadn't taken before, seeing a new door. The redhead glanced at his friend, and he wondered if this perhaps was the room, but couldn't read it from the thief's expression. He bit his lip, as the blonde pushed open the door with quivering hands. His gloves were musty, looking even worse in the oddly bright lighting of the room.

What they saw shocked both of them. Though the leather-clad thief had never seen the room the dreamers were kept in, he knew that this was not right at all. The entire room was completely empty, every bed having no occupant to count.

Zidane stupidly pushed open the door, shock and pain overtaking his sense of intelligence, as he looked around. He was absolutely sure this was the place he had to be in to find Elouise and his other friends, but there was no one there. He wandered down the isles as Blank silently tried to get his attention so he'd come back to the door. He found where he had woken up, his memory sharpened when he saw the room once more. He sat upon it, and looked around, trying to figure out just what had happened.

The sense of dread that overtook him was unbearable, and he closed his eyes, willing to vanish from the world. It wasn't until he felt rough gloves grip his arm, yanking him up that he realized him and Blank had to get out. But it seemed it might be too late. Guards came from both doors, a good five at the end of each room, leaving no escape.

"Hey! What are you doin' here??" Zidane's memory of the guards themselves were fuzzy because of the fact his fear of them melted away over the months of getting stronger, but it almost seemed as though it were the same one who saw him before.

"It's the dreamer!" There always had to be a smart one in the bunch. "It's the escaped _dreamer!_" he emphasized, trying to get everyone to move, "Get him God dammit!" He roared, as more guards leaked into the room. Blank looked around, his whole body wrought with fear.

"Shit..." He mumbled, fearing for himself and his best friend...

Perhaps all the things he said - the reassurances that they would get home safely to the blonde paralyzed next to him... Perhaps they were wrong.

??

**A/N: I haven't written this story in about - Two months. Sad, hm? I hope you all thought the chapter was okay anyways and I haven't lost the touch of drama for the story :D Even though this update will come around the same time as the others - I myself have not written in a while. Apologies.**

**-zesty-**


	17. Chapter 16: Immediate Consequence

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: It's almost been what? Lol, another two months? I don't have a clue. I hope you're all enjoying the story so far though lol. I know - just so much is going on at the moment... Lol, but I'm going to start this chapter because I used to be (when I first posted the prologue) basically 13 or 14 chapters ahead of the recently updated chapter. Yeah, um... I'm only about 3 or 4 now lol. I've lost my touch for this story :) Let's hope I can finish it, hm?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or it's characters. Though I kind of wish I did.**

**Chapter 16: Immediate Consequence**

The brunette glanced at the slightly older man, trying to figure out what his expression was. When the news was given to them that two of their team mates were missing, at first it was absolute horror. When expressed where they might possibly be going, considering it was Zidane and Blank, that horror turned into an outright rage. A number of people had been woken to speak about this incident, and to think about what they had to do. But a whole lot of arguing later, they had decided the subject would be persued again if the two didn't arrive back by morning. Now, at four o'clock, niether of the two being able to sleep, they stayed in the kitchen, completely silent, the woman not even knowing what he was thinking about.

She found him normally easy to predict and read, as his emotions were played out, sprawling across his face, and no matter in what - if it came to: what he was going to eat for breakfast, to practicing sword fighting with him, he was always very predictable to whom had spent more than a decade to him.

Beatrix was shocked, and at a sheer fire loss as to what to say about Steiner at this very moment in time. In a way, his attitude, with a brow creased, and a permanent scowl on his face, was a normal expression. But how he wore it, in their current situation was admittingly frightening to the pale woman sitting with her legs crossed across from him.

When he moved slightly, aftering being still for so long, she flinched, trying to sit up straight to hide her jolt. He didn't even bat an eye at her reaction, which made her even more concerned about what the man was thinking about. She parted her lips, sliding her pink tongue across them to moisten their surface so she could speak, but no sound came out. It was amazing - after all of their time together, and one little incident that hadn't yet made him angry and explosive, upset and demanding, or gleeful and giddy, caused her words to be pulled right out from under her.

"Steiner..." She finally managed in a hoarse voice, deciding then it would just be better to reach out to him, placing her ungloved hand on top of his arm.

He didn't look up at her for a long time, which potentially wounded the woman. She only cared, and the fact that he wasn't answering, or her undenying love for him wasn't really helping the matter in the least. But when he did look up, she almost knew right away what he was thinking.

"I thought we were going to wait until -"

"If Dagger's predictions are indeed correct, we _must _go to their aid now, or I fear it might be too late..." He trailed, allowing that to sink into her mind fully. "This is a mistake our team made - it's only right that only our team goes to try and fix it."

"We don't all have to go..." She persisted, thinking about how dangerous it would be for Quina, Vivi, Dagger, Freya, and... most importantly - Steiner. "Only one of us would be able to go and get them out, right?" She questioned, her eyes large with this newspoken fear.

"I do not know..." He shook his head slowly, "Perhaps it would be better if only one of us went. Then again at the same time, our whole team together might be the best route."

"This was so unexpected..." She murmured slowly and quietly, recalling how Dagger had burst in, tears in her eyes, reporting the news...

??

A Few Hours Earlier

_Beatrix sat up in bed from her door bursting open, her eyes wide with a sudden groggy and ridiculous fear someone had found their hideout and had broken in. She was up in a second, her dagger gleaming in the light coming from the hallway, although it was still dim. With an quick movement, she sped to the door, only to stop short because of the girl collapsing into her, hugging her and breathing deeply with sobs wracking her whole small frame._

_"Dagger?" She questioned, carefully dropping the knife on the table near the door, "What are you doing here?"_

_"They're _gone, _Beatrix!" She sobbed, her chocolate eyes glittering even in the small light._

_Beatrix lead her into the room, never making the younger girl's grasp leave her own, while she sat her on the bed and lit a candle, holding it near her tear stained cheek._

_"Who's gone?" She questioned, an eyebrow raised. She didn't look very professional, but she figured the raven haired girl wouldn't care at the moment - seeing how upset she was._

_A new round of tears suddenly burst from the girls eyes, making her sob beyond belief at the mention of exactly _who_ they were talking about. But the chestnut haired woman managed to make out, "Zidane, and Blank," from somewhere between the girl's cries._

_"What?" She asked, her eyes almost popping out of her head; she would have jumped up, had the girl not been clinging to her shirt._

_"They've left! Zidane said good-bye to me at one point late last night, but then - and he - I didn't think - how stupid and foolish of me - and then - but they - how could - why?" She sobbed, her tears leaking onto Beatrix's black shirt, the woman's eyes getting wider and wider every second._

_Quietly, she pulled Dagger to her feet, giving her a comforting hug, before whispering what they would do into her ear, "We'll go let everyone know... Do not be frightened Dagger, we _will_ get to the bottom of things..." She made the promise to the young girl right there, not even slightly oblivious to the girl's possible feelings towards the blonde, and the bond of friendship both he and the redhead had formed with a lot of people around the resistance headquarters._

_??_

Finally, Beatrix slowly made her way back to the room, rubbing Dagger's back affectionately to try and calm her down. The tears still leaked down her cheeks, though not nearly as bad as it was before. Shaking her hair out of her face, the woman plopped the girl into a chair in the kitchen, her face glancing at the others in the room.

Freya was leaning against the counter, her hat tilted in front of her eyes, her body quavering with a bad vibe - as though something terribly wrong was going to happen to them all, depending on the decisions made tonight. She had a scowl upon her features, that was hardly seen due to the snow white hair hanging in front of her face. One of her feet tapped against the ground, somehow holding her balance still.

Vivi was in a chair, also crying, with Nadina's hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner. He was very upset the two of them had left, though he wouldn't show his sparkling yellow eyes, and refused to make much noise besides the occassional sniffle, sharp breath, and murmured sob, though his shoulders shook violently every few seconds. Nadina stood to the side of him, slightly bent at the waist, leaning over so she was short enough to be comfortable enough to whisper words of solace in his ear. He didn't wish to look at her, making her face distort into even more concern than before. If they were to leave, herself and the Tantulus crew would be in charge of the resistance until their return... If they _were_ to return.

Which lead Marcus to be leaning against a different counter, his eyes glaring downward with his pointed ears sticking up, as he chewed on something or another in his mouth with his arms crossed, one ankled tucked behind the other. He was slumped so no one could see a clear expression on his face. Though it was apparent that his hands were balled into such tight fists his knuckles were turning white - he didn't like being left behind by one person they finally got back, and another person who was emotionally returning to them...

Cinna was seated in a chair, a rather vacant look on his face. He couldn't believe that out of everyone to simply up and leave with no warning, it was Zidane and Blank. He shook his head, his tan armor moving together as he shifted again uncomfortably in the seat. An anxiousness wracked his large, rounded body as his eyes shifted between everyone in the room, waiting impatiently for something to happen. Sighs of distress left his lips every two minutes to try and get someone's attention to speak up, at least to tell him to shut up, for he did not want to be the first to speak.

Baku was pacing rather roughly around the room, and if anyone got in his way, he shoved them back out of his way so he could walk. He was stroking his beard with one hand, as though in deep thought about how bad he was going to kick the two's asses when they were retrieved, only to stop, with a plain shocked expression on his face when realization hit of him _not_ being able to tell if the two would come back alive or not. It was quite a disturbing thought to be had.

Ruby was seated in a chair next to Zenero and Benero, dotting her running eyemake up with a white hankerchief borrowed from one of the brothers. Her blue hair was ruffled and dissorientated - she was really upset Blank was gone. Though she sometimes seemed as though she hated him, she really was sweet on him, though she wouldn't admit it. Perhaps if he would just come home alive, maybe... She trailed, another small sob wracking her body as Zenero patted her back. He shot a sympathetic look at Benero who was slightly sobbing, his face in his hands, so upset that their team once again had fallen apart. It seemed as though Zenero was the only one who could hold it together out of the three. Reaching over, he placed another comforting hand on the leg of his brother, both of his hands now occupied with giving comfort to someone other than himself.

Steiner was sitting, completely calm, and disturbingly serene at the head of the table. His face showed no emotion, but there were no twitches or jerks in his movements, not even in the slightest. Everyone glanced at him the most, baffled at how he was stone still, no smile or glare on his face, his eyes only reflecting what kind of mood he felt. Even they didn't help anyone at all, because they read the most unreadable mood every. Every person in that room figured it was something new he was experiencing, between stress, worry, anger, and an upset aura that engulfed him to act like that.

The second most disturbing person in the room was Quina. He stood there, apparently not at all happy. He was very calm, yes, but his tongue wasn't wagging all over the place in confusion, as though he hadn't a clue what was going on at all. There was no drool sliding off of it onto his apron, and he stood for the most part still, and even more surprisingly - quiet. He didn't ask a single question of what was going on there, as though he knew. The thought really frightened a lot of people.

Cid was also sitting at the table, at the other head, directly across from Steiner, though his expression read either unreadable or grim. He did not know what to say - this could jeperdize everyone in the resistance, and yet their most powerful person could have also been driven to no use, or even out of his right mind to fight for what he believed in, had they not done it. He looked torn, tapping his fingers against the dusty table, though not disturbing any of the particles planted on the surface.

Dagger was now seated in the chair, her head down in her arms that were folded out in front of her. She seemed the most stressed of them all, her tiny sobs still breaking through as a muffled noise allowing everyone to feel a little sympathy. He long black hair cascaded over her shoulders, covering almost her whole back, no pale skin visable, as she was still completely dressed, obviously knowing about this long before anyone else... most likely not even being able to sleep.

It was Beatrix, who seemed to have Cinna's anxiety, Dagger's sorrow in her eyes, Baku's pacing, and Freya's angry concern who started the meeting. "You all already know why we're here..." She nodded, as though it would speak for itself, but she kept going, "We had this meeting once tonight... But I think... Steiner, myself, and to a certain extent, Dagger as well... We all think that something needs to be done before morning. And like any great group of individuals fighting for a cause, we'll vote..."

She waited for even a sound from someone else. But the small amount of noise in the room, mostly generating from Dagger and Vivi, had even haulted, as though the sound had caught in their throats. Dagger was now looking at her, her pale skin tear stained and splotchy red, her eyes puffy from rubbing them and the salty tears leaking out. Vivi still didn't look up, but everyone could tell he was listening. She took in another breath to continue.

"Does the whole team go, or just one person?"

Still there was no answer from anyone, not even an acknowledgement from Steiner, which began to frustrate Beatrix. She was the only one who wanted to face what was going on, putting the situation before emotions, and it was beginning to irritate her how the others could only think about what happened, and not what to do about it. "They're going to be in danger. Dagger tells me, from what Zidane has been thinking about - actually what's been driving him _mad_... His friends from this fake world..." She nodded to Vivi, as though he were the only one to fully understand, although she only received a slight nod in return.

"According to Dagger, Zidane and Blank went to Alexandria to try and find his friends..." Some unknowing people gasped in the room, while others easily knew that's what had been bothering the blonde all along, and that's what sincerely needed to be number one priority in the blonde's mind.

It was a strange thing, but it was Cid who spoke next. "What's done is done now..." He nodded, his voice extremely professional - more so than it had been in a _very_ long time. "But, we need to think of how to get them back. I know there is doubt in your minds from everyone else here voicing their opinions. There were some people who said that they needed to be rescued, some people who said let them come back on their own, and some people who said let them die if they're willing to leave just like that, for one single mind boggling idea. But these two are your team members, and your friends... It is ultimately up to you all, how exactly you want to tackle the situation. If something is not done soon though, I warn, they could be dead or captured and unretrievable by morning."

Another breath caught in Dagger and Vivi's throats, and slight cries of emotional pain and tears began again.

"It might be quickest for just one of us to go..." Freya nodded, the first to throw in her opinion. Beatrix truly appreciated it from the Bermecian.

"Then again, what if we can't defeat whatever is there?" Dagger asked, her voice filled with tears and doubt. The only one now freely crying was Vivi.

There was a lot more silence to ponder the pros and cons, though unwillingly, until Steiner for the first time in a few hours spoke. He became quiet half way through the last meeting, only saying the few words to Beatrix when she had been sitting with him, wondering about the situation.

"I believe then, we should take the whole group. It's either one of us, or all of us... Though, a few of us will actually go in, some of us will stay out... We shall keep the path clear incase one or both of them are hurt."

Although an agreement was made in mute, no sound audible in the room, they dreaded the thought of the two being hurt. Despite the fury building inside some members at what an idiotic decision it was to go, let alone not tell anyone about it, there was a dread in the gut of everyone, no matter how angry they were...

What if the two of them were hurt...? Or worse...

??

**A/N: Yikes... That was easier to write than I expected it to be. I loved writing that chapter actually. It was very nice... Yikes Wow. I loved it - I can't get over it hahaha... :) So yeah, let me know who sucky it was - despite the fact I had fun - first time in a LONG time I had fun writing something lolol.**

**Hope you all enjoy and review :D I appreciate it just as much as you might appreciate the story!**

**-zesty-**


	18. Chapter 17: A Rescue Mission

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: Finally off with the story again :D I'm excited. Now it's the end of May. I just got a couple reviews for way earlier chapters about Elouise being a Mary - Sue, and my OCs being unoriginal. Thank you for being honest, I really appreciate it. Though, I have to say considering I am not a published author, I am not comparable to Twilight, and you don't know **_**what**_** Elouise is because she's not in more than three chapters of the story. The OCs were intentionally boring because their 'perfect' people - that's how they're supposed to be, if you'd like to read on, unknown reviewer. Thanks however for your honest opinion, I take everything into consideration :) At least you took the time to say you didn't like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 17: A Rescue Mission**

"Are we ready to go?"

The morning mist after the storm of the night was thick above ground. The whole squad had been out in the crisp morning, stretching themselves, and making sure their weapons and supplies were legit, also getting the boat completely ready.

Dagger stood with Vivi on the boarders of the meadow, the decrease of temperature freezing over the grass, making it hard to step on and squish. The icey frost clung to the plants and buildings to sheet them from the world, as though they willed the sun away from the surfaces. So far, chilly clouds had vanquished the sun, slaying it from sight - it looked like it was going to be tough going.

The first quarter inch of the water was frozen over, Nadina and Beatrix were both attempting to unfreeze it. Vivi was so tired - confused and unable to sleep the night before, disturbed by what could have happened to his best friend, therefore he was unable to cast spells to help out. The Tantalus crew was trying to dig through supplies, knowing they had physically lost Blank, even after getting him emotionally back, and losing Zidane all over again.

For once in their lives, they were silent and getting along enough to rummage in peace.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Vivi's small voice filled the bone chilling air only a short distance around them; everything was so still there wasn't a slight breeze to carry on, it seemed as though the whole world had died.

"Zidane?" She attempted to smile, though she felt as though she could break down into tears at any given moment.

"And Blank..." Vivi corrected himself, his voice still tiny and miserable.

She gazed out over the plains, expecting to see the swaying emerald grass and beautiful azure sky. And yet, there was only a crisp winter feel of everything being dead and abandoned. She fiddled with her hands behind her back, her raven hair framing her face, to hide it from the safe world behind her. Her sparkling eyes had a depth of thought and wonder about what the future would bring. It seemed as though she could only live in the present when she felt like floating - when she was with Zidane... Every other time she _had_ to be a leader... She was _forced_ to think about the future.

She tilted her head downward to look at Vivi. Standing next to him in this state, he looked so small and cold. He was lost, and didn't seem to fit in quite right. Thought it felt normal standing next to him, it didn't seem as though he thought so. His clothes waved when he swayed where he stood, and his habit of pulling down his hat whenever he spoke, or was shy about speaking.

"They'll be alright, Vivi..." She knew it was a very large possibility that those were dry words, but she had to offer some sort of comfort to the mage, no matter how tiny it might have been.

"It's okay..." It's as though he read her thoughts, "I won't make you promise that. I know you can't promise something like that..." He looked up at her, his eyes indicating a smile, though she couldn't see it. They sparkled with a well-masked sadness. "I have to be strong..." It's as though he were answering her unspoken questions again, "Zidane told me that's the best thing to do... Now I have to be strong for him and Blank..." He nodded and looked forward again.

Dagger couldn't help but smile. Perhaps Vivi fit right beside her more than they both realized.

?

"We should have left earlier..." Beatrix mumble, blasting another firega at the water, "This is slowing us down..." Vivi threw sad spells next to her - the chill, nervousness, and anxiousness plowing through him making him a poor canidate of assistance.

"I'm sorry..." He apologized, only to have her tsk him out.

"Do not apologize..." she let on a forced smile she thought perhaps would look real, puffing out some breath that looked as though a fire inside of her was burning, her mouth being the escape for the smoke, "it's not your fault at all."

"Master Vivi! If you see, the evil forest is coming up fast... We're almost there."

"I hope we're not too late..." Freya looked up towards the sky, the sun _still_ unable to pierce through the grey, rolling waves of clouds.

"Any way to move faster?" questioned Steiner, his voice still tense and angry; everyone could tell now being out and about that this was a most troubling thing to have to do.

She shook her head, "It's unfortunate, but I don't believe so..." she took one glance at him, then looked back down at her hands, running over her long weapon, stabbing the ice next to the boat to push it forward, "Remember when we find them Steiner... This is a rescue not a punishment... And remember they are part of our team."

He stuck his nose up in the air and turned to face the bitter cold, away from the safe place they had abandoned for something wreckless and stupid...

Dagger was the only quiet one, minus the Qu sitting next to her, staring at the water, dry thoughts floating about his mind, not really entailing anything of importance, as he didn't understand the situation to the fullest extentd . She sat in the boat, glancing every so often up at the sky to see if snow would had yet to fall. She was sure these powerful spells meant something was going on - this was _not _normal weather by Dali. Of course, it could be some freak accident, but the ice was hard to melt, the cold intensifying the closer they got to Alexandria, and that meant that something was amiss. Shifting her gaze to meet her gloved hands, balling up into fists she knew that Kuja was angry... Kuja had found something out that he wasn't supposed to find.

Closing her dark eyes, she let her body jerk around with the motion of the boat so unsteadily driving through the water. It would almost be faster to get out and run, but their tracks would be seen then especially in the river. It was better to knock out all of the ice - just so no one was able to track them back.

She wondered in the back of her overflowing mind, how angry she would really be when she saw one of her best friends, and someone she was rather fond of, safe... Or how angry she would be she didn't stop them if they were injured. Shuddering at the thought, the girl forced her eyes open, feeling quick moments where her eyelashes would touch her cheeks when she blinked. It was things like that - the little things - that she kept herself occupied with.

There was so much stress lately, that it seemed as though she couldn't possibly fathom how much was really going on. Before, it had all seemed so surreal, the war. But now, going on rescue missions, and having two dreamers with them, people dying, and fights going on, it seemed so much more in-time... It seemed scarier, and the thought of death seemed to frighten her more than it had before. Dagger didn't want to think about it, but she figured that she had to... Only at the moment, not knowing the fate of a few friends, because of a very little mistake she had made, she couldn't possibly wonder about the future...

It was a time she needed to relax, and focus on things only in about a two feet radius of her, otherwise surely she would explode.

?

"It's so dead..." Beatrix whispered to Freya once they all got out of the boat.

The Bermecian looked around, not a thing in the forest making a sound, but that's not what troubled the woman at all. She took an armored hand, and gestured lightly, so as not to distract the attention of others, towards the water, "Though it is thawed, there is no current."

Freya glanced at the brunette, a fear lighting up her hardly visible eyes. "It is unnatural..." She murmured, pushing the hair from her eyes, only to have the silvery locks fall in front of them again. "I don't understand magic quite like this... It's powerful... I can't get a feel of it."

"That's not a good thing..." Beatrix pushed the boat forward a small bit, then turned around, "A small break for food... Then we need to get a move on."

"Why are we even stopping?" Dagger questioned, collapsing onto a rock and tracing the frost upon it with her finger, before glancing up again, staring straight into the eyes of the older woman, "What if this precious time could be used to save them?"

"We can't be hasty, Dagger," Beatrix answered, in an attempt not to agree with her.

"We haven't done that at all... With our decisions, setting out, moving along the river - everything we've been slow at, and because of that they could be dead." She was close to spatting on the floor, but restrained, reminding herself that it wasn't anyone's fault but Zidane and Blank's that they were in this mess to begin with.

"She has a point..." Out of all people thought to say this, it was Vivi. When all eyes turned on him, he shrank back, looking like a kicked puppy, knowing he was about to get beaten again.

"Explain, please, Master Vivi..." Steiner instructed, attempting to hold his voice as calm as he could.

"I know that what Zidane and Blank did was really wrong, and I know no one is happy about it... But, I thought... I thought that, everyone cared about... at least Blank enough to panic about it... Even if they are angry. I know though, that no one knows the kind of craziness Zidane has had to go through, and even I don't to a certain extent... I just don't want anyone to be so angry about having to go, and endangering the whole resistance, that they don't really want to move as fast as they could... Even if I agree that everyone has a right to be angry..."

It seemed to be the most words Vivi had spoken at all since joining the resistance more than a month ago, and as he turned away, it didn't seem like he wanted to explain any further than that. Of course though, he didn't have to.

Quina looked back and forth between the two. For a while, they didn't even realize he was still with them he had been so silent. But, when it came to sticking up for Zidane, his new found, extremely interesting friend, he had to speak up, even if he didn't really want to get involved in the whole matter. He only wanted food... That was the first and simplest reason he was with the resistance: they gave him good food - Kuja did _not_. The swamps were swiped clean out, and there were no homes for the Qu's left in the world.

"Vivi speak truth...?" He was unsure quite how he was answering that question, and how the others would take it, but he had to put in his two-sense worth.

Freya shuffled her feet, the first to allow those words to sink in enough to nod, "I agree with Vivi and Quina. I believe we should move. Everyone here has enough adrenaline to move as quick as possible. We've broken into the castle more than once, and who's to say, because we're angry, we can't do it again."

Everyone nodded and slowly started to agree. It seemed as though, if they were any later... Zidane and Blank could die - everyone took Vivi's words to heart. For such a small, shy character, with a role even he didn't know yet, he had powerful words.

?

Once they were in the castle, that didn't even have guards outside anymore, it wasn't hard to track down where their two commrades were. In the end, they really didn't actually have to be very sneaky either. Guards were yelling, swords were clashing, and no one was on alert. The two of them had been figured out, and of course this raged Steiner to a new level.

Everyone was silence as they moved, building a tense atmosphere that was torn down whenever the gurgled, blood-filled scream of someone only halls away echoed through the stone. Finally, they found the room, and bashed the door open, weapons at a ready as they burst in, just in time to see Blank hit down by a soldier. Right away, Beatrix sent a thundra to keep someone from hacking through him to create a bloodier mess than things already were.

Immediately afterward, everyone jumped into action, but it seemed as though the guards became a smidge smarter than the last time they had fought. They kept Dagger busy so she couldn't heal Blank. The funny thing with cures was, that if it was too much of a problem, just a cure couldn't exactly fix everything. That was tough about this situation.

Zidane was truly stunned that they were there. He didn't ever imagine it would have to come to this. Part of him wanted to just flinch at the thought of what was to come after this battle - if perhaps out of anger and rage they would strike him down... But another part of him knew that in fact they were more level headed than that... Well most of them - he wasn't sure about Steiner.

Swiftly he twisted and turned, until he was in front of Blank, defending him with kicks to the guts, and swings of his dagger. A soldier ran behind him, the blonde only warned because of a yell from the redhead, and he whipped around just in time to get slashed in the face with a sword. Immediately blood seaped out of the wound, dripping onto his friend still writhering slightly on the floor. He stumbled back, only to bump into someone else, who happened to be Dagger. Quite frankly, when she whipped around, she hit him hard with her staff, and though she apologized quickly, he thought somewhat she meant to do it.

He allowed it to roll off his shoulder as he kicked off of his back with the help of his hands and feet, and flung his dagger at an oncoming soldier ready to allow his heavy axe drop onto Blank.

Dagger made sure she backed away from Zidane as more soldiers leaked into the room. She didn't want to make a mistake when she was in the heat of battle. Her anger was rising, and yet dissolving all at once at seeing him well enough to be able to fight. She didn't want to make a mistake. She aided her friends by casting spells on them whenever she could, but unfortunately spells took a long time to conjure... It was a challenge to keep all the soldiers back, though she could see out of the corner of her eye Steiner trudged to her aid.

Hitting them back with the pitiful staff she had, she saw Steiner violently get knocked back from a guard using the similar technique to Blank - hitting the helmet to make their guard crumble before kicking them down. Luckily, Steiner had enough training with the young bandit to roll out of the way before the killing strike.

Retreating seemed impossible now, with guards at every corner and crack in the room. Even if they tried, they would be slowed down because of the wounded. Breathing heavily, she knew that her actions could suffer a sevre consequence, but she understood what she must do.

She closed her eyes knowing very well what they were all suffering when they were here. They needed to get out, and she believed there was only one way to do this. She called for Freya's aid, who quickly summoned a dragon to protect Dagger, as she began to build up her magic power.

In the background, she heard Beatrix scream for her to stop, but she couldn't do it... She raised her staff to begin the summon.

Beatrix's eyes widened, as she gasped, running forward and putting a hand to her chest. She screamed for Dagger to stop, because she held the knowledge of what would entail. The only living person who knew how to summon... The Princess of Alexandria... better known as Garnet Til Alexandros 17th...

A thick humidity filled the air, and soon out of the midst of simple oxygen water began to appear, the strong magic noticable the moment it began. Everyone faultered as soon as the water began to build, all gazing up to see what was going on. One soldier who had been fighting Beatrix sometime earlier ran up to her, and plunged his sword into her lower back.

Her painful shriek was drowned out by the water creating a wave - a wave larger than anyone in the whole room had ever seen, washing over everything from people to spider webs in the upper corners belonging to spiders who thought they'd be safe.

In the air, some saw through the water who managed to stay conscious without hitting a wall with disturbing force, viewed the royal blue snake, glimmering with a summoning light, and long white whisker type body part whipping around it with the force of the wave... The water snake Leviathan. There was only a short time that people could capture it in their memories before everything began happening fast again and people, friend and foe, were being thrown all over the place. It would be tough to regroup and get out of the castle.

A guard stumbling down the stairs with a group, lacking in a sprint fast enough to make it there before the wave, saw the whole thing from a room behind Dagger... a room that happened to get hit last with the water. Though with his own life threaten, he bolted back up the stairs at an amazing rate, one other guard tagging behind him, who was thrown backward by the force. A blood trail ran up the stairs as well from that guard, but no time could be wasted - they had to report this to General Strand so he could report back to their Lord Kuja...

They had to report that they had found someone who could summon.

They had to report they had finally, after thirteen years, found the lost Princess Garnet.

?

**A/N: Wow that was fun to write :D I'm so excited to keep going with this! :D**

**Please REVIEW and tell me what you think!**

**-zesty-**


	19. Chapter 18: Somehow Mistakes Were Made

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: Well this chapter gets pretty back into the swing of things here :) More Drama yay.**

**Disclaimer: I haven't owned it for the last 18 chapters, I'm not starting now :)**

**Chapter 18: Somehow Mistakes Were Made**

When Dagger finally opened her eyes, what she saw in front of her was a catastrophe. The raven haired girl had only summoned one other time in her entire life, and never before had she summoned Leviathan, but now she knew that that summoned creature might not have been the best choice.

Some guards heads were at weird angles, their helmets dented from the force of hitting the brick wall, necks broken, blood spewing from a few of them. There were people hanging over the old, splintering support beams on the ceiling, most of them not very fond of the height. People were in heaps in the corner, and some people were just peeling off the wall and falling towards the stone floor, their body finally stopped compression themselves towards the wall, moving faster than the world spun, to come down off the stone.

She was almost positive everyone was spread around the hidden corridors, knowing very well the water found a way out only through the door. The girl prayed the boat was still around, but even more so that she could find her allies quickly.

Taking a step forward, her legs wobbled beneath her. Dagger supposed it had taken more out of her than she suspected it would, but knew she must go. Pushing the remains of what everyone thought was a sturdy door out of the way, she saw stray arms without bodies, a foot without a limb, and bodies without heads. Depending on the angle things hit you, depended on your injuries. Seeing the gruesome power of the wave, she bit her lip, hoping she didn't make the mistake in killing her own people.

?

Steiner threw off his helmet, shaking the water out of it, before sturdily putting it back on his head. His eyes were extremely blurry, and he couldn't see more than ten feet of blur in front of him. Very unsteady, he stood up, though immediately wishing he hadn't. Sitting back down he closed his eyes and took in a watery breath, feeling around for the sword he was certain he had lost.

_What happened?_ He wondered in his head. Just before a giant wave woke him from his slumber, he had been knocked backwards by a guard... He must have passed out. But how had a giant wave been conjured there in the first place? Confusion then swept over him faster than the water as he tried to shift positions. There was a load of pain engulfing his whole being at the moment, and he figured there would be a lot of bruising. He had woken up from the icy chill of the wave, smashing him into a wall. His armor, sturdier than the pitiful guards on duty downstairs, had saved his very life, and for that he was exceptionally grateful.

Unfortunately, when he opened his eyes, his vision was no better off, so he took to examining himself with his hands, to make sure nothing was openly bleeding. He felt a few cracks in the armor, and cringed, hoping no more random waves came out that day. There were a few spots where the knight knew he was bleeding, and could see very well, even through the fuzz of his vision, that he was loosing blood quickly. But there was nothing he could do, therefore Steiner closed his eyes, for the first time in a long time, admitting enough defeat to wait for assistance he hoped would come.

?

_His eyes lessened into slits as he tried to focus in on the object appearing out of thin air._

_'What _is_ that?' He wondered to himself, confused in the least. But when the beautiful, but knowingly deadly, aqua began to fill the air in the form of a wave, his eyes widened. Though he wasn't sure how exactly it was getting there he knew that he had to get himself, and his comrade behind him out of there._

_Stumbling, he whipped around, and grabbed Blanks gloves with his own, holding them with an amazing grip. A yell erupted from the redhead - his arm and hand must have been broken; the pressure the blonde was admitting was probably a painful amount._

_"Whatever the fuck happens, Blank," his eyes sparkled with a seriousness the emerald eyed thief wasn't aware his best friend possessed, "Don't let go!"_

_"Zidane -" but it was too late, the redhead had used half of his pitiful breath, in an attempt to question the blonde, his azure eyes squeezed shut, body rigid as though ready for a mouthful of impact; his friend was also very _very_ right._

_They were engulfed by what felt like liquid ice. It froze their bodies almost instantly, so they were so shocked they couldn't quite move to try and swim. It wasn't as though it would have mattered much if they _could_ have, because the force pounded them against a wall very quickly. The direction, ever changing, shifted them through a large doorway, and Blank and Zidane felt their grip on the other quickly begin to slip._

_The older thief made a vain attempt to pull the smaller one closer, so that he could get a better grip on him, but the wave flattened Zidane against a wall, Blank in the unfortunate path of a doorway. With a crack no one heard, Blank's forearm, being broken before, splintered out of his skin, though not completely apart, and with that he was swept away, unable to bear keeping his grip any longer. He was slammed into a wall, bubbles from his last breath escaping his lips as his world dimmed._

_Blackness splotched his vision like paint splattered on a canvas, and his conscious mind began to lose it's strong grip on reality as he floated away into a painless, warm area that felt like heaven. He wasn't sure he exactly wanted to leave this place, but somewhere in his mind, it screamed for him to wake up: it told him he was only going unconscious._

_?_

With such a little weight, and being the smallest member of both good _and_ evil, Vivi was the easiest to whip around. The water tangoed with him, as though it was all simply a game, like a ball of string for a cat. That's what Vivi seemed to be for the water. He was bounced, tackled, rammed into things, and eventually, like the owner of that cat, taking the string away, some fate that favored Vivi in the world (or perhaps not depending on the outcome) hung him up on a beam towards the ceiling towards the end of the wave, surely put out of death's path.

The poor mage was beaten up pretty badly. And though nothing was yet to be broken, bruises were already forming on his body, and it was apparent from all the rips in his clothing that he was pretty injured. There wasn't a lot he could do about this, being barely awake, and clinging to the beam unconsciously.

Unfortunately for the owner of the glowing yellow eyes: he was afraid of heights. When he finally came around, realizing that he was indeed not dead, he glanced around at the moist place, and coughed. The dust in there had to find a place to go, and it seemed to be with Vivi at such a height. He noticed this when the beam he was sitting upon showed signs of sagging... That is, it cracked.

His eyes widened as he saw how far he was off the ground. The floor began to spin and looked more like a vortex than stone. He tried to shut his eyes, in an attempt not to watch, but another snapping noise broke through his attempted-calm reverie, and caused his eyes to shoot open at neck-breaking speed once more.

He attempted, though in vain, to scoot to a part of the beam not cracked, but it was no good. The wood gave out and crumbled, the rot being moisted, allowing it to fall apart. He hung for the sake of his life, but the whole beam began to crumble out of the wall.

With a scream, he plummeted to the floor, and with a hard smack hit the stone, the wood, though rotting, was still hard, collapsing ontop of him. His world went completely blank, and for a moment, his mind seemed suspended above his body, looking at his measly existance, wondering if his soul should break free, or give him another chance.

That's when he completely blanked out, and let go of the pain, cold, and fear of reality.

?

Quina sat upon the floor, tilting his head back and forth looking rather confused. His dripping tongue hung out of his mouth as he heard the echoes of water dripping off of the dark walls. Silence swarmed over the corridors, as though no one was still alive. This didn't effect Quina, however he refused to think of the possibility of blood dripping along with that water.

With a quiver, he stood up, the wave blasting him into a wall, creating a crumbled mess of stone on the floor after he fell out of the hole he created, and though he bore injuries those didn't seem to effect him either. Walking down the hall, he kept his eyes straight, his tongue from flying all over the place, in fear of seeing or tasting something he didn't particularily want to notice.

The only two things on his mind were to find food, and to find his friends. Therefore, he set out through the halls, his oversized fork at a ready incase he had to shovel through people, or kill someone.

"No one here..." He cried out, frustrated no matter what hall he turned down it was all the same. "This trick I sure!" He decided, wandering down yet another hall, stepping over the broken stone and crumpled bodies. His rage began to build until he was charging through the area, everyone still partially conscious absolutely baffled about how a Qu was actually tromping around, uneffected by the magic.

?

Being back at the restistance was refreshing. It seemed like her role increased when she was actually around all of her friends, who she discovered that so dearly she wished to be with them whenever she was away. But then again, when she was without her friends, she was with the person she wanted to be with more than anything in the world at that moment in time.

Fratley, for all she knew was dead... He had been with the king, where she wanted to be oh so badly, but Freya had to leave. He had commanded her to do so, and so she had gone obediantly enough. If only news God damn _spread_ within this world, she might have been able to figure out if the King of Bermecia had fallen... his guards with him.

She had done everything she could to protect her kingdom - to be a knight like she had promised Fratley she would do... In return she forced him to promise he would live to see her again. He had agreed, as he had every other time he had left her, going out on an errand, or adventure she could not take part in. But this time it was different... This time it was not a game.

A lot like Dagger had been thinking to this point, before Fratley had made her leave - to, in a round about way, flee the wondrous city of Bermecia after the guards had flooded the place more than the rains, Freya had thought this was all so surreal it could be a game. A sport in which it pertained to winning or losing... But now she saw, after being out and witnessing the horrible things she had witnessed before stumbling upon the restistance that made her grow stronger and more mature longer than five years ago, that it was actually between life and death.

It didn't matter in the end who won or lost... The only thing that they had to deal with, when it came to loss, is losing life as well... It wasn't about control or power that determined the loser or winner, like she had once thought... She knew if they were to win... Kuja would have to die... And if they were to lose... They must die... Otherwise, the war was not won...

"Freya..." There was a gurgle of her name that knocked her senses back into her.

Very slowly, she moved her head around, trying to glare through her silver locks of hair to find where the voice came from. It was weak, but she knew it must not be an enemy for they didn't know who she was.

Slowly rising to her knees by a push up position, (because she was laying on her stomach) the Bermecian looked around once more. Dead bodies were scattered around the room, and a surprising amount of water and blood seeped through the cracks in the floors. Everything from the blood to the wood smelt damp, causing Freya to shudder. The scene before her was not a pretty one.

Swords, spears, arrows, and any other weapon was swiped up in that typhoon, and along with people, the sharp metals must have cut them even to the extent of death. It was disturbing when she stood at a higher level than the dead, looking at who's lives couldn't be spared.

She tried to remember what had happened, but to no avail... She had no memory after summoning a dragon to go to Dagger's aid. Other than that, she was absolutely puzzled.

Through the grotesque painting of still life, there was a small lift of a hand, and Freya knew right away, though the chestnut hair clung to her face and wet floor, it was Beatrix. Hurriedly, she rushed over, not being injured at all from the unknown force she couldn't remember.

Blood pooled around the woman, as she breathed hoarsely. The rasps of her intakes of oxygen made Freya flinch whenever it caught in her throat, and she coughed up blood onto her face and the floor. Knowingly, she rolled the knight over so she didn't choke on her own blood, and saw a distastrious thing...

She always thought of Beatrix as strong and indestructable. No one could touch her, and it was even considered to say she was even more skillful with a sword than Cid used to be in his prime. Unfortunately, her whole side seemed to be blown out as though someone infused her kidney with a bomb.

After Beatrix was stabbed, the wave washed over the knight and the soldier who stabbed her. He wouldn't allow himself to be deprived of his sword, so hung on for dear life. Unfortunately for the girl, it was too bumpy of a ride to allow the sword to come out. Therefore, she was given no mercy when she was whipped about, the sword slashing up her side before it finally ripped out of her body by cutting through tissue and skin until it sliced out of the side of her stomach. If she didn't get help, she would die soon.

Freya didn't talk as she summoned a dragon. She didn't have a lot of strength, so the dragon's recovery spell wouldn't do the brunette much good, though it would give her enough time to find Dagger. "Just try not to move, alright?" Freya commanded more than asked to do a favor, but she got her point across all the same.

Standing stiffly, she turned on the watery surface, a squeak erupting in the champer, and moved to leave, before Beatrix's glove grasped her ankle.

"Do not leave me here to die..."

That was all it took. Freya understood Beatrix thought she would die, and from the condition she was in, the Bermecian couldn't really argue that fact. So she picked the girl up in her arms, and moved slowly and steadily to find help.

?

Water and blood ran out of his hair. The Genome stood, and looked around at the dark chamber. The air was crisp and some of the water was frozen. For some reason the temperature had dropped profusely outside. Ice shined under his feet, and the corridor was dark. He stumbled over objects he wasn't sure what they were, but didn't have any desire to find out.

Wind crept past him in an eerie sort of way, as though something big were about to happen: the calm before the storm. But considering what had happened - he figured the storm was already over... Then again, finding his way back to his comrades and getting them the hell out would be an adventure he wasn't sure anyone was ready to tackle. His head swam, and he was weak with dizziness he couldn't shake off, but his determination to find what happened to Blank after the redhead had let go was enough to motivate him to keep going.

Feeling around with his arms in front of him, he tried to find some sort of light, though everything was black. For a moment, he thought perhaps it was his eyes, but soon found that he could see something of a light in the distance.

_Drip..._

_Drip..._

The only sound in the background had an effect on him. Even his own footsteps didn't seem to have more of a sound than the constant drip of liquid. He shuddered, and continued to move forward. His breath was sharp, and every time his eyes moved in their sockets, they seemed to ache from the cold. His feet seemed numb as he moved forward, a moist dust settling upon everything after being stirred.

The light began to get brighter and brighter, the world warmer and warmer, until he came upon a room looking mostly undamaged. There were stairs on the far side, and torches that were being held, and that lit the halls were breathing a hot fire, the tips dancing higher and higher it seemed, every second Zidane looked upon them.

"We need to find them - this is a prime time so that they can't get away. Two dreamers and one Princess... No doubt other valuable resistance members!" One guard hissed. He was tall and thin, looking more like a walking skeleton in rusting armor than a human.

"I'm surprised they brought the Princess at all... How long has she been hiding away?"

Princess? There was a Princess about? Who had the resistance found in his short time away from them? He wondered if she was a complete bitch, beautiful, or a wonderful fighter, hardened by the years of war. The Princess of where? How long had she been running away? Why would she come to place such as this? So many questions ran through his mind, but he couldn't go closer, in fear of being found out.

He backed away, trying not to make a sound, only to stumble upon something and fall backwards. When a guard poked his head out, he hid from view, pretending to be dead on the floor. Soon the door, somehow still standing after the blast, was slammed shut again, only a light glowing from the cracks, giving the room a look of mystery, and a white glow similar to that of the moon.

Though this shine was nothing like the moon in ways. Zidane remembered being under the moon, being a place of happiness. It wasn't being cooped up in fear of something, and he was there under the stars and the beautiful light illuminating what would be a calm darkness in such a way that suggested romance or happiness. He remembered the night with Dagger, and though they were out on scouting duty, they were having fun. It seemed as though there wasn't a care in the world.

The long glass caressed their legs as they moved, it being more silky than scratchy. The way the water trickled from somewhere not that far off, and how the crickets and bugs were so serene that they created a music one could only hear from nature. The trees and mountains in the distance looked more like a painted portrait than real life, and the breeze seemed warmer and smelled of freshness. Nothing mucky or damp, dusty or scratchy was on the wind. They were laughing and enjoying the other's company, Zidane reciting lines from what he thought was his own creation, while Dagger giggled at his faults, though sent him fond smiles in the moonlight.

The way the light captured her dark chocolate eyes, and the way the breeze caused her hair to frame her face just perfectly. The light gave her porcelain skin a radiance the sun could never achieve, and everything seemed more beautiful.

Here in the disgusting bottom depths of a castle no one cared to be around anymore, that caused fear and pain, he turned his head to look into the eyes of someone pale and clammy. Someone who was dead. He got up as slowly as he could, not wanting to see something so frightening again.

He remember the faces in his dream. The faces of these people, when he seemed so much smaller. It must have been when he was younger. The face of the dead man on the ground, scared but covered with bravery for the people with him. The woman with long golden hair, and the most beautiful face he had ever seen, a thin but strong body, her face in fear, tears leaking out of her sparkling sapphire eyes, as her angry shouts called out to leave them alone. When she turned and looked at the miniature version of Zidane, her eyes were full of a lovingness he didn't think was possible...

And then she was struck down too. Their faces were pale and clammy, just the same way... Though he didn't understand who the two in the dream were, their flesh and faces, unnatural ways their body's lay on the ground would _not_ leave his mind as he stumbled, trying to get away from the weird glow of the room.

There were footsteps in the hall, quick and small, as though whoever was producing them was frightened and trying to escape. He cautiously walked towards it, and out of nowhere, the darkness seemingly thrusted a young girl into him, with a force that knocked him off of his feet, her ontop of him. Though she tried to push off of him, and he tried to fight her off, they managed to get tangled up, and not be able to move.

That's when Zidane finally realized who she was, and shifted her carefully so she could stand, "Dagger, thank God you're okay!"

She stood, her eyes wide at seeing him, and before he could fully stand she threw her arms around him. "I'm so thankful you're okay! I can't find anyone!" Tears pricked her eyes, but she told herself she wouldn't cry when she found the first person who was an ally.

"What did you do, Dagger?" He asked, his question making her body go rigid in his arms as she pulled back, refusing to look him in the eye. "What happened? I just don't understand, I mean... How did you _do_ that?"

"It's just a spell..." She bit her lip, trying to be as vague as she could without sounding mean - it wasn't his fault, and she couldn't be angry at him for that, "Let's go find the others."

"Of course... But let's not try and run okay? There are guards just a few rooms over, ready to set out to find me or Vivi, and some Princess."

"What?"

"That reminds me! Who are they looking for? Surely if they're looking for her, she has to be on our side. Who is she, Dagger? Did she come with you?" The questions flooded out of him, but she wouldn't answer anything.

Finally he shut up and put a hand on her shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"Let's just keep moving, okay? I'm sure someone will be able to answer your questions..."

It seemed to suit him enough, and as she walked though she didn't want to be questioned, she realized perhaps it was good she found Zidane first. Everyone else besides Vivi would have been angry with her - they would have known what she had done.

Biting her lip, she glanced at the blonde. Vivi wouldn't have been a good canidate either - she would have had to lead... And right now she didn't have a level enough head to do so... She was at a loss of what to do. His breathing was calm, and he stared straight forward, not allowing himself to be overwhelmed by the horrifying sights around them.

Turning to look forward again, she strained her ears listening for some sort of a sound. The more silence she met, the more worried she became...

What would happen, if her defense happened to turn out being the biggest mistake of her life?

?

**A/N: I know it was pretty uneventful, but next chapter... Oh I promise next chapter will be very interesting :D**

**I hope you guys are all enjoying so far, and I hope you REVIEW! :D It would be much appreciated!**

**-zesty-**


	20. Chapter 19: Escape From Hell

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: Wish me luck :D This chapter should be pretty interesting to right about.**

**A/N #2: Lol before posting this, I thought I would put in another thought - This is my FAVORITE chapter of the whole story. Absolutely my favorite one! :) Please enjoy!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9, or any of its characters**

**Chapter 19: Escape from Hell**

Weapons were drawn quickly, the darkness circling them like an airborne disease that would never leave, and though they were blind to see their predator, they slashed relentlessly in the air, ready to kill whoever threatened those they tried to protect.

But soon enough, behind one unable to fight, a faint glow of light bobbed in the distance. It became closer, and moved more quickly the more clashing erupted in the echoing corridor. There was a weak, but loud scream that caused the unstable walls to shift, and dust and pebbles to fall. The fight died slightly at the sound of the voice, and the light illuminated the hall just enough for each of them to make out a Bermecian and a Genome.

Though there wasn't enough time to greet each other, as Freya whipped around, her tail slapping Zidane in the stomach as they moved forward as a unit. Dagger hung knowingly back, though she wished to help whoever was with the new-found Bermecian (it sounded a lot like Beatrix, and for that even more so she wanted to assist), if the guards spotted her, they would have a difficult time escaping, and not to mention explaining.

Zidane hurdled his dagger, the ruby on the hilt glinting in the light, to hit the guy in the face before he could clobber the brunette with whatever he was holding. A painful scream exploded from the throat of the man as he tried to scratch the dagger away from impaling his cheek before he melted to the ground in a dead heap of flesh and bones.

Three guards after that pounced on Zidane, in an attempt to pin him to the floor as he struggled.

"The dreamer!" They screamed, almost all in sync, "someone call an alarm!" One spewed, straddling Zidane's torso so he couldn't flip over and buck the guy off of him.

Two guards attempted to stumble away, one from the way the small group came, and another in a mad-dash to dart past Freya. The Bermecian stabbed her spear into the man's back, a perfect aim into his heart - killing him instantly. It was as though she were plucking him up on a shish-ka-bob stick more than anything. The other guard didn't even realize Dagger was there until she wound up and bashed him in the back of his head, most likely his skull cracking. She didn't have enough force to kill him and collapse his skull into itself, but she figured it got the job done.

It seemed the more the blonde struggled, the more guards showed up to hold Freya off. He wasn't exactly sure where Dagger had gone, but he hoped that she was safe, hidden in the shadows, or at least around a corner or something of the sort. Finally, one guard made one wrong move, and Zidane bridged, throwing two puny guards off of him with the force, as he flipped up into a handstand, and back onto his feet.

"We need to move, Freya!" He yelled, bewilderment plastered onto his face; the adrenaline was making him rear to go, and he figured then would be a good time to do so.

"Right behind you!" She called as he took off at a dead sprint.

He could hear the pitter patter of her footsteps behind him only by a little bit when he ran into someone. Whipping out his dagger right away, he saw it was simply Dagger, looking scared at the speed the thief could achieve in such a quick time. He jumped up, grabbing her arm and almost yanking her along as he pulled her up. She hardly had any time to plant her feet on the ground before her next step was needed.

Freya caught up fast, easily running behind them before they broke into a brighter room. Dead bodies were scattered around, and it was silent except for the dripping of what they could see in the dim candle light flittering on the walls, was water.

"Hello?" A voice called out; surprisingly enough it was from Zidane.

"What the hell are you doing!" Dagger hissed, yanking his arm so he stumbled closer to the two females.

"If any of our friends are as hurt as Beatrix, we need to call out to them - they aren't going to be able to meet us somewhere. Sit tight, perform a cure or some shit, and let me look around."

"We don't have time for this, Zidane!" Beatrix pleaded in a raspy voice.

"If you don't get a cure now, you'll die."

It was blunt, but it was well said, and Freya carefully laid her on the ground, yanking the metal and wood woven door shut, and placing as many soaking bodies, and scraps of wood and stone in front of it as she could.

"That's the only door I'm blocking off since it's apparent we don't want to go that way anymore... We will need to move fast."

Zidane walked around, rolling people over, and kicking items out of the way to see for familiar faces. He did find one: but it was of a guard who he had seen at the very beginning of the fight. He was slightly fried up by some magic, but otherwise sopping wet, pale and wrinkled skin... He had been the one who had struck Blank down at first, breaking his arm in God knows how many places. He was dead: his injury from Beatrix's spell paralyzing him long enough to allow him to drown in the water. One of the unfortunate who never learned how to swim, as he was most likely too caught up in his duties to this castle.

The blonde shook his head and stepped over the guard, not wanting to see his face anymore. Though he had been the cause of some trouble, Zidane hated to see people he had seen in his life time dead on the ground, when he was still breathing, though he wasn't sure how much he deserved to live.

Finally, on the far corner of the room, the sapphire eyed teen let out a yelp. Freya glanced over, Dagger too engulfed in her spells trying to patch Beatrix up, and the woman, who had more strength than she did minutes ago, glanced over too, her curiosity sparking.

Zidane shoved a few things to the side, and slapped the side of Steiner's face. "Hey! Wake up!"

He let out a groan of a sort, and opened his dark eyes to see Zidane in front of him. With a sudden realization and burst of rage, he roared and shoved the blonde backwards. But seeing who exactly he had just shoved, he managed to control himself, even if the rage of seeing the blonde alive and well angered him. He was though, delighted to see his sight had mostly come back to him.

"Steiner!" The gasp was breathy, but it was one none the less, and the woman stumbled to stand on her own. Dagger, broken from her spell, quickly grabbed her before she fell over.

The knight looked at the female he had always thought to be so strong. Though he had seen her in times of weakness, this had really taken the cake. Blood was everywhere, whether new or dried. Her brunette hair had a strong, red crimson tint to it, and her red pants, darker than they normally were, were close to matching her armor and skin that had been stained with the substance. Her abdomen looked slightly disproportioned, though he did not know why, as he couldn't see the giant hole in her lower back. All around, she looked frightening in her weakened state, and a new kind of anger sprouted within him at seeing her like that...

Of course, his undenying (to himself only... barely even that) love for the woman only fed that fury until close to madness. To see her like this only made him gape like an idiot, before struggling to gain his footing to trot to her side. Zidane helped the striving man, and received a push aside for reward. He supposed Steiner wasn't very happy with him at the moment.

He moved to the woman, not sure where he could embrace her for fear of hurting her. The wound was in an unknown place to the man, because of so much blood caked on her body. He settled for touching his hand to her cheek, and felt the small pressure of her leaning her head into it.

"What happened to you?" He questioned, still managing to sound professional.

"I..." She trailed as her face pinched in pain and she began to cough violently. Blood was spat onto the ground, and Steiner watched as she completely collapsed into Dagger.

The young girl carefully replaced her on the ground and began another spell, though again had to break it off out of interruption.

A loud _bang_ thundered within the room, coming from the door Freya had blocked with half of the opening's unmoving objects and bodies. She took a step back, her arm up in level with her neck to protect her from any unsuspected blows. Another bang boomed and echoed down the unblocked halls, making everyone whip their heads back and forth. It was all an illusion house, noises drifting in on them from different places, paranoia raising their senses, but also their imagination.

"We need to move..." Freya spoke, quickly gesturing to Dagger to perform the fastest spell she could.

The banging began to get louder, as Freya checked over Steiner, ripping from her long red jacket rough pieces of cloth, and tying them tightly around his wounds. He winced, but was otherwise alright to move with the pressure, and carefully picked Beatrix up.

The cure was complete, but she was otherwise unconscious for the time being - she had lost too much blood.

Zidane picked up Steiner's sword - only four feet away from where he had been for the last hour, and sheathed it on his back once more. Zidane took to the front, Dagger not far away, and Freya holding up the rear. Steiner shot a glance at Dagger, thinking she wouldn't see it. It was harsh and disappointed, but when she did, in the end, spot it, just out of the corner of her eye, and her heart sank. She had disappointed someone she never wanted to dishearten. Turning away, she broke into a quick run with the blonde in front of her - so far he was the only one who would speak with her... It's because he didn't know how serious the situation was.

?

Blank strained to stand up. He was a little wobbly, and used a lot of breath, but he finally focused enough of his energy to move towards a hall way entrance. When he finally walked into the new hall, after feeling as though he had been there, unconscious or not, for days on end, he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

As soon as he began to muster up the spark of energy for him to walk without stopping, he was rammed into a wall, yelling in frustration and pain as he collapsed onto the ground. His arm was underneath him, and his eyes watered, though he refused to cry. He wasn't sure it was possible for his arm to hurt more than it did now. The excruciating pain ripped through his body sending cramps and tingles throughout his arm and shoulder, straight down to a small, jolting shock to his feet.

"Blank?" He looked up to see Quina standing in front of him, tongue hanging down in confusion.

"Quina?" He yelped, feeling angered that it was because of the Qu all his hard work had gone down the drain.

Quina easily plucked Blank off the ground and let him fall back into a standing position, and when he began to tip back, pushed him forward again to correct his dizzy balance. "What you doing?"

"What are _you_ doing?" Blank asked in a baffled ire, "Tromping around in the hallway like an enraged chocobo!"

"Sound delicious! Must find food, must find friends!"

Blank looked at the Qu with some wonder. There had been no damage to him, at least, no more than when he had first met Quina. He stood, confused, and smelling, his tongue wagging around, a large amount of drool rolling off of his tongue, and in a glue-like fashion stringing and dropping to the floor.

"Have you found anyone else?" Blank winced as he walked around the heavy bodied comrade standing in front of him.

"Me find food... Friends second."

Blank rolled his eyes: that was the essence of Quina. Though he didn't have a lot of time to ponder about it, as guards slid down the hall and immediately began their relentless attack on the two of them. Quina, convinced food was being hidden by those treacherous people, used his eat ability to gobble one up, curious as to what they tasted like. Unfortunately for him, he spit the guard back out, the others watching in extreme horror. Terror trembled through them as Quina locked eyes on them next, wondering if perhaps they tasted different.

That's when Blank heaved a few stones, his aim astonishing, hitting them in the head, the ring imitating itself, bouncing off the walls. They fell to the ground in a daze of deafness, and that's when Blank slit their necks, watching the blood spurt onto the ground. Letting the last of the guards drop toward the ground, he glanced at Quina.

"Let's move!"

Quina easily kicked one of the guards, disgusted by his lack of exquisite taste, and hobbled swiftly off behind the redhead.

?

"This seems to be familiar..." Zidane stopped and looked into the room. Wine stains were splashed all over in the form and direction that the wave pushed it. Though it was washed away with the pure liquid, its color stained the wood and floor, along with it drunken guards who weren't even aware of what hit them. The wood from the kegs was scattered all over.

"Do you know the way from here?" Steiner asked, looking around the oddly colored room.

"I'm pretty sure..." Zidane mumbled, looking at the statue that not so long ago, Blank had yanked them behind to hide from the men ready to chew the drinkers' asses out.

"How do we find Blank, Vivi, and Quina?" Dagger asked, her voice quiet.

"Perhaps they're already outside..." Freya offered at least a little comfort to her - she had to give her thanks for that.

Footsteps were being heard that caused them all the hush. Everyone was quiet, and slipped into a darkened corner of the room. When they saw Quina, his giant body wagging itself around, they all jumped out, gleeful to see their comrades.

Zidane stared at Blank, as the redhead smirked at him. They shared a moment no one else would understand, from what all had happened - they were both still alive. Blank's earlier words to the blonde, even before the fight in the dreamers' room, had stayed true so far.

"Where's Vivi?" Dagger voiced her main concern at the moment to the two that just joined them.

"We thought he'd be with you!" Blank replied, breaking his stare with the blonde to look at the girl; she bit her lip, a fear spreading in her eyes.

"He's probably hiding somewhere knowing Vivi..." Zidane started, but turned away, "or he's hurt..." That would definitely make him feel absolutely awful. "We need to find him."

"We need to get help with these wounds! We can't allow Dagger to help us until we have a safe place... Like the boat!" Steiner insisted.

"You wanting to leave Vivi?" Quina asked, not knowing the seriousness he had just implanted into everyone's minds.

"Ridiculous..." Zidane expressed his disgust.

"We wouldn't be in this God damn mess had it not been for your foolish mindset!" Steiner barked.

"I never asked you to come get me..." The blonde's words dripped with poison as he pushed past Dagger and Steiner, "I'll find him myself..."

"I'm coming with you!" Dagger and Blank spoke simultaneously.

Freya watched Steiner's face conduct a beet red of rage; he looked as though he couldn't breathe he was that angry. "We'll all go, but we must be quick... Steiner is right to a certain extent. Beatrix won't make it out of here if we do not hurry..."

Zidane nodded to the rat-like woman. He appreciated the compromise, not really expecting to get one... And he respected the fact they needed to find help for the knight, otherwise she would die... But after the mess he had created, he could _not_ leave Vivi behind. He wondered in his mind just how upset Vivi had been, had he been at all. A lot of pity went out towards the small, black mage, and he hoped that they found him safely without harm.

?

Vivi's eyes finally opened after a batch of even icier water had been dumped upon him. He opened his eyes to find, not his friends he wished for aid from, but enemies he willed never to see. A tall and boney one with a creepy smile, and even creepier features smirked at him, "The li'le runt is awake!" He laughed, yanking Vivi off the ground.

"Let's bring him to Lord Kuja at once!" There was a heavy set one as well - someone much larger than Steiner, though not with muscle but fat from too much food.

Vivi struggled, though it was weak because of his tumble he had taken from the beam. He looked up, simply out of curiosity to find it crumbled from the ceiling, an odd space in the neatly structured wood.

But what blocked the guard's first path was Zidane. Vivi cried out in joy, straining harder to get to the thief. Behind him were Blank and Freya, and he could see a shadow of Steiner's large form, carrying another. He didn't see if it was Dagger or Beatrix, but he couldn't see either with the group. He assumed the worst, though didn't have much time to assume... The guards yanked him up.

"Another dreamer!" One yelped, "Get him!"

"We've got one! Let's not risk losing it! They have some bloody resistance members with them!" The guard holding Vivi seemed to make the command and whipped around, running out the next door.

Zidane growled and pounced after them, his sprint faster than everyone else's. A guard took to Steiner, being the weakest because he had to look out for someone, not even recognizing Dagger as she flew by as quickly as she could. Ever so carefully, Steiner laid Beatrix upon the ground, calling for the others to keep going.

He unsheathed his giant sword and began to battle it out with all the guards wishing to extinct a tough member of the resistance. One guard there knew him as Adelbert Steiner, Captain of the Pluto Knights from such a long time ago, and that being expressed aloud, caused more and more guards to come at him. He fought to protect the woman behind him, knowing very well the others would be safe.

The group, minus Steiner, pushed ahead, through obstacles and corridors, getting themselves lost once more. Vivi's cries were becoming faint as the group, minus Zidane, had to stop to wait for Quina. Soon, because the poor Qu hadn't had anything to eat the whole day, collapsed out of pure exhaustion onto the ground, his stubby legs not wanting to work any longer.

"Go ahead. Must find food!" He pulled himself around, half crawling, half rolling in an attempt to find food; otherwise it was sure he would go crazy.

The others didn't think about it again, though Dagger was hesitant about continuing to run, because she was afraid that someone would catch Quina off-guard. Though she knew he would be alright, and that's what ultimately made her keep going.

Zidane felt footsteps behind him, keeping a keen ear on the cries ahead of him, only a little ways. He was doing a good job of keeping up with the guards, not letting his team mates slow him down. Freya was the first to gain on him, and soon behind followed Dagger and Blank.

The blonde tripped around a corner, sliding on the water as Dagger almost fell, Blank stopping to help her up. He watched the guards shut a door. He recognized this weirdly lit room as the one he had first found himself in before, thinking of his night with Dagger not long before he found her.

A gasp escaped Dagger's pink lips as she watched them quickly placing a second layer of wood on top of the door with magic. It must have been there all along, set up incase of pursuit. Quickly, Zidane jumped and kicked the door, hoping to bust through it.

But he fell to the stone, flat on his face with a groan. There was no kicking it in - the second layer was too sturdy... It had to be made of different wood. Freya looked around it, wondering just how they were going to get through this, when suddenly she lashed out with her spear.

Conveniently, a part of the door crumbled away, and there was a small hole in it then. Her spear had worked miracles as Zidane squeezed himself through it. He felt the splintering wood dig into his sides, but kept pushing himself through, watching above, already a quarter up the spiral stair case of stone, Vivi yelling down to Zidane, thrown over the shoulder of a quick moving guard.

He finally fell through the hole, rolling and hitting a table that hadn't been damaged during the wave. Yelping, he jumped up, peering at Blank pulling himself nimbly through. Even with a broken arm he was a strong fighter. Dagger was screaming at him, unable to see the blonde, to hold on and wait for them because he had no idea what could be in the castle above.

After Blank fell through, Zidane pulled the young girl through, even easier to fit than Blank, who was beneficially smaller than the Genome. Freya took one glance at the hole her weapon had made, poked her head through and shook her head.

"I shall catch up to you!"

"Freya we -" Dagger started, worry reflecting in her eyes.

"I cannot fit in a short amount of time. I'll break more of the door and catch up to you, I promise!"

The three of them nodded and began heading up the stairs, watching as the group of guards and Vivi were half way up. Running for what seemed like days, they were almost all the way up the stairs, gaining respectably on the guards, when a lever was pulled, and they had to dive backwards in order to not be hit from a gate falling.

It was a very tall gate, but easily climbable. Though the metal was rusted, and seemed sharp and ragged at some points, the squares made for easy grips to get over the giant gate. Unfortunately, Blank shook his head.

"Zidane, you have to go."

"What? What about you?" He asked, biting his lip.

"I can't get over that gate..." he shook his head and held up his hugely swollen, bleeding arm, "I can't do it with this. I'm amazed I've come this far... I can't even grip anything with it, and you have to bring Dagger over. It would take too long to make two trips... Just go on without me..."

He unstrapped his dagger and tossed it to the blonde. "Take good care of it and bring it back to me, okay?"

Zidane nodded, and very hesitantly helped Dagger onto his back.

"And Dagger?" Blank started, acknowledging her for the first time.

"Yes?" She looked at him, her chocolate eyes glittering with what seemed like salty tears threatening to fall. Every friend of hers they had to leave behind in fear of losing another one... She wondered if they would get everyone back together before they died.

"You are well aware that inside dwells Kuja... Inside dwells the evils we've worked so hard to dodge the last however many years... They know who you are Dagger, you have to be careful... The only advantage you have is that you should remember that castle like the back of your hand."

"Always have..." She smiled encouragingly, though it didn't not reach her heart.

"Good luck!" He called when Zidane was already easily climbing, half way to the top.

As soon as they were at the top, unexpected by Dagger, Zidane jumped the rest of the way. He earned a scream, but otherwise the two of them were undamaged from the long drop. He set her on her feet, and they began to run again, silently pushing open a much nicer door compared to the ones below. Blank put his hand up to the gate, and tightened a fist around it, angry that he couldn't stick with the others.

?

There wasn't a lot of commotion through that door anymore. Everyone was aloft the dungeons, and so the guards and other inhabitants of the castle, figured they were also far above the enemies. This was a very good, and a very bad thing for Dagger and Zidane. The good news was, was that the guards would take their time taking Vivi, who was no longer screaming, being so warn out, and also having silence cast upon him (a quite literal effect of muting the victim, everyone had actually found out - along with not being able to cast spells), to Kuja.

"How do we do this?" Zidane whispered.

Dagger bit her lip. She didn't know quite how they were going to pull this off, not being able to find Vivi through his voice. She looked all around the room they were in, to find that there were a few helmets, and she glanced at Zidane who could only nod at her thought...

?

It wasn't long until their plan was put into action... An unsuspecting guard walked into the room, mumbling angrily to himself about how dumb it was that _he_ had to pick up all the damn armor. Apparently, the news of what was going on downstairs had not been spread too terribly bad... It must have been told only to those who needed to know...

Unfortunately, a pot to the head was what this guard got. He never had to clean up the armor because he was completely knocked out. Zidane yanked off his entire body of armor one piece at a time, throwing it down to Dagger's feet.

"What are you doing?" She hissed in a whisper, "This armor is going to fit you!"

"We don't have enough time," he began yanking a boot off of the guard, holding his breath from the stench, "to wait for another guard... You're going to have to dress up and hold me for a hostage to bring to Kuja..."

"You're crazy! I can't pull that off!"

"I have faith in you, Dagger..." He smiled at her as best he could muster, and finished pulling off the man's armor before shoving him under a table and stacking some stuff on top of his slumbering body.

Slowly the girl slipped into the armor, it too big, but also loose fitting enough where as she could still wear her shoes in the boots, and her clothing under the armor. The only problem was her staff, that didn't fit the weapon of a guard at all. Zidane took it, and gave to her Blank's dagger. He shrugged, shoving it behind some mops leaning against the corner of the small storage room. They would have to come back for it later as he threw a cloth from the table the guard was shoved under, over it.

Though it wasn't something to joke about, Zidane had to muffle a snicker at the girl.

"What's so funny?" She demanded.

"You've got to use a manlier voice than that, Dagger, if you want to be convincing..."

She sighed. Her naturally high soprano voice was going to be difficult to mask, but she tried it out anyways. Though Zidane didn't laugh out loud, she saw his slyly hidden smirk as he whipped around and found some rope.

"Are you going to tie him up?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope..." he shook his head and threw the rope to her, which she clumsily caught in the large armor. "You're going to tie me up... And take me to Kuja."

"Are you insane?" She gasped.

"Nope..." He winked in an attempt to give the girl encouragement, but it didn't really work as she tied the rope around his hands. "Leave it loose so I can break out of it, okay?" She nodded in agreement, and kept it loose but convincing and lead him forward. "Good luck, Dagger."

"You too..." She gulped and pushed opened the door.

She was sure there'd be guards all over them, pouncing on them and such, but she came to find Zidane was a surprisingly good actor. Though the night in the meadow had been shocking, this truly took the cake. His head was bowed in defeat, his eyes set downcast with a slight limp to his walk. His teeth were barred, and every so often he gave the hint by stopping for Dagger to shove him forward, though her shoves were measly because of her nervousness.

Guards glanced, and people whispered, but no one interfered as she made her way through the castle. Of course, there were a lot of things that she didn't like about the redecoration. Her heart was ripped open, and she could feel tears prickle in her eyes when she saw portraits of her family, and decorations of pride to the Alexandria Kingdom replaced with demonic objects she couldn't quite describe.

As they moved she got more and more anxious. As they walked on by, towards her mother's chambers, she passed the room that used to be her own, and her curiosity peaked. There was no one around, so her hand slipped slowly off of Zidane's back, as she turned.

He hissed unintelligent words at her as she slowly pushed open the door. She slide her head through the small crack, but before she could set her eyes in the space, Zidane yanked her back out, eyes wild. She turned away from him, glancing from him to the door when finally she turned her back on her old life. He didn't understand, but he was right... They needed to move forward and get Vivi...

As they climbed the last set of stairs, they saw royal knights right outside the door. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw General Strand standing outside.

"Who are you?" He barked, causing her to jump.

"I'm..." She had to think on her feet, but her mind began to blank. The rage she felt towards this man suddenly burst out of no where, and she wanted to scream who she was. Her voice got professional and high, her natural voice showing out a bit, "I am Ga-rt."

A kick from Zidane saved the whole mission.

"Gart?"

"Gart..." She nodded slowly, her voice lowering in an almost shame. Twice now in the last three minutes she had almost blown their cover and gotten both of them killed.

"You have a dreamer... Christ you're going to get promoted..." He opened the door and pushed her and Zidane in. She was amazed it actually worked, and she could tell by Zidane's large exhale he was surprised too.

Inside the blue room, the freezing air from outside drifting in, the plants lining the windows were all frozen over, no time to even die. Sitting at the desk, with a few people bowing in front of him, was Kuja himself. His icy hair cascaded over his shoulders, and his red and blue eye make up was surprisingly scary as he looked up, his cold eyes sharp and intense to Dagger's dark orbs.

"What is this?" He hummed, causing the people to turn around.

Zidane glanced up at the common looking people giving him glares, his eyes confused on who they were. He supposed he was still behind on a lot, therefore looked back down to seem more frightened. There was a shuffle in the corner, and both Dagger and Zidane glanced to the side to see Vivi struggling against some guards trying to get to Zidane. His eyes were wide with a worry the two were touched by.

He chuckled, "We've found both of our missing dreamers..." He smirked, "and those two who have delivered them to us... Prism, and..." He looked towards Dagger expectedly.

"Gart." She choked out.

"Gart..." Kuja smiled and let out a small chortle, "Perfect..."

With so many guards around, it finally hit the two of them that maybe they would never get out, and they had just dug their own graves. Zidane closed his eyes and let his head drop to his chest in defeat knowing it would be almost impossible. Vivi was tied up, and there were so many in the room, and not to mention the way back down to their friends... Let alone Kuja alone being so close - and could so easily kill them.

He looked back up at the five people bowing in front of Kuja's oak desk. Scanning all of them, sizing them up, was not hard, until he reached the last... It was a girl... Her hair was a wavy blonde, thrown up into a messy bun and... And those eyes were, what color? He couldn't see through his hair. Flicking it out of the way he tried to get a look at her when he was pushed to the ground, letting out a groan from hitting the floor with his face.

Dagger noticed that the plants began to grow more green and lively-looking, and the temperature of the room began to increase. He was calming down... The magic of the dangerous weather was being lifted.

Kuja walked over to Zidane and yanked him off the ground, looking him straight in the eyes. Zidane's orbs narrowed as he spit in the man's face. Kuja dropped him, roaring for him to be executed, and Zidane spun around tripping him, tugging his hands free of the ties. As the so called Lord began to fall, Zidane's furry tail slapped him in the face, infuriating him to a new level.

The man howled as he fell to the ground spat out spells, wails morphing together in such a fashion no one could even understand what he said. The magic ricocheted off of everything, hitting his own men, unfortunately not hitting his target.

Everything was happening so fast, Dagger was jostled back to the door where she could only wait. The Genome's race was a well advantage versus the people in armor, as he threw Vivi over his shoulder, and jumped on top of any furniture he could find to dodge the guards. He couldn't get a good look at the blonde he was wondering about before he was pushed and basically thrown out of the room.

Dagger helped him up, kicking off the loose boots as she ran and ripped off the helmet. The gloves came off on their own, and Zidane picked her up on his other shoulder, his adrenaline getting the best of him, and jumped off the balcony to the main floor so they had some sort of a lead. Things were getting warmer the further they ran away, but it was obvious the guards were gaining fast.

He burst through the door, knocking it completely down as Dagger began to strip the armor off of her and grabbed her staff, Zidane shoved a remedy down Vivi's throat. As quick as he could he drank it, and cast as big of a fire spell as he could possibly send at the door to stop the guards, though Zidane knew it wouldn't stop Kuja.

He picked Dagger up on his back, Vivi on hers, and climbed the gate, Blank stumbling to get up as he saw them coming. Like a spider, Zidane's movements were swift and bug-like as he basically hurdled the wall, and set his two comrades down, completely out of breath.

"We... have... to move!" He yanked Blank out of his sitting position, and they ran down the stairs as best they could. Vivi lagged because every so often he would stop to send a spell ripping up the stairs, hungry for human flesh to burn up, since stone was not a great conductor of fire.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, they saw the door had been chopped away slightly, and when they ripped it off (easier from the inside) they saw Freya sitting with Quina, who was still eating whatever food the Bermecian produced. They both jumped up when they saw the four of them.

"Let's go! We have to find Steiner and Beatrix!" Zidane screamed, allowing Freya, with the best memory of their direction lead quickly.

Even Quina did not fall behind this time as they moved. The guards, easily dispelling the fire, were on their tails. Zidane's heart thumped in his chest as he gripped Dagger's hand, making sure as they hopped over things, she didn't fall. Glancing up at Freya, he saw her mimick his move, gripping Vivi's hand as tightly as she could, all knowing to his clumsiness.

The blonde felt as though he would throw up his lungs, the guards basically breathing down their necks. He ultimately knocked it out of his mind, but that girl he had seen... She looked a lot like Elouise... He shook his head as he glanced to Dagger, the girl's face in his mind disappearing all together seeing the porcelain face of the resistance member. He scowled looking forward, determined to make sure everyone got out of there alive.

Everyone knew that one wrong turn in that hell would be the complete death of them...

?

**A/N: Wow... That was fun to write :D I loved it! Thanks for reading! Review!**

**-zesty-**


	21. Chapter 20: Out

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: So I know the last chapter was seriously like... really long :) But at least it had stuff going on? :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9, or any of it's characters.**

**Chapter 20: Out**

"Move, move, move, _move!_" Zidane barked the order at Steiner, who hopped up immediately along with Beatrix.

The brunette had made some miracle of a recovery, and though she was no where near one hundred percent, or even out of life danger, she could still move around well enough on her own.

"What happened?" Steiner demanded before he would move any further.

"We need to leave!" Dagger persisted, weaving her fingers together and standing innocently and helplessly in front of Beatrix, "They're right behind us!"

"Who?" Steiner and Beatrix wondered aloud together.

"Kuja!" Zidane and Dagger yelled together, in hopes of getting everyone to move a bit faster.

A few of them gasped, not knowing what was going on exactly, but there was no time to speak to each other about it. Spells were being cast behind them, random bursts of fire, or cones of blizzards, whooshing waves of water, and chains of lightening, among other spells - stronger spells.

"We have no time!" Freya pointed out the obvious as she gripped Vivi's hand again, running down the tunnels from Blank and Zidane's lead. Beatrix this time, held on to Dagger as best she could, and together they helped each other over the bodies and debris as swiftly as they could.

When the light hit their eyes, everyone flinched back, slightly dazed from the sudden burst of light. Though the sun's rays were still extracted, the world deprived of the beautiful, hope-filled blaze, they had been in that hell-striken place long enough for their eyes to adjust to _strict_ darkness.

Glancing around wildly, Vivi was the first to spot the boat on the other side of the river, and down a few feet. Luckily, it had warmed up enough, and not cooled back down yet, so the water wasn't frozen. Zidane and Steiner dove into the water, their heads bobbing above the surface when they came up for air as they tried to reach it. The rest of the group was huddled towards the edge of the last stair that led into the icey water.

They gripped the boat as much as they could, kicking their legs fiercely, though they were becoming numb extremely fast. As soon as they got back over to the other side, the others scrambled onto the boat, it wavering around in the water. The two of them stood on the steps, shoving the boat away to gain speed, as Steiner hopped in.

Unfortunately for Zidane, he fell back into the water as the boat pressed forward. They were screaming at him to hurry up and try and scramble on the side, the water was beginning to freeze once more, Kuja and the others in the last tunnel to the outside.

He inhaled as deeply as he could and dove under the water, pressing himself against the bottom, his shoes giving him grip as he pushed off, trying to reach the boat. He could see the shadow under the water, moving ominously, the suspense of if they'd actually make it away alive almost too much to bare.

After what seemed like forever, when his breath was almost out, he kicked off the bottom of the stone canal, shooting upward under the shadow of the boat, where he turned slightly, and broke out of the water, it splashing just about everyone on the craft, but his hands clung to the wood, as he dug his fingers in, pulling himself up.

He only, by some miracle, slowed the boat slightly as he collapsed into it, breathing heavily as Freya pushed it with her spear. Steiner, with his long sword, and Beatrix with her thinner sword, used them as paddles to help the boat along, as Vivi refroze the river behind them. Quina tried not to move around, in fear of rocking the boat too much, and Blank was lying across one of the wooden seats, clutching his arm, and slipping in and out of consciousness periodically.

Zidane looked to Dagger who was sitting in front of Blank on the floor. There was a bit of water on the bottom of the boat, her pants and hands soaked as she traced her gloved finger in the liquid, creating a small trail that disappeared without a trace within split seconds.

"Did we... really... make it?" He asked between puffs of breath. He would start to get cold soon, and he could only pray it didn't take very long to get back.

She smiled down at him, an obvious relief in her features as their boat sped out of the city.

He closed his eyes and grinned back at her. Letting his breath fill his ears as he drifted into an exhausted sleep.

?

By the time they reached Dali once more, the weather had taken a surprising turn. Though it was still stormy, it was no longer freezing, the grass wet instead of crisp, and the houses exposed instead of hidden. Thick raindrops hit Zidane in the face as he climbed lazily out of the boat, read to go inside and take an extremely long nap.

The others were silent as Beatrix began tying it up, and hiding it under some brush. But she let out a cry and collapsed on the scene, snapping everyone back to reality. They had made it out of the death trap, but still had wounds that they needed to tend to. The event was doing a good job at reminding everyone of their mistakes.

Quickly, Steiner picked Beatrix up, Freya helping Vivi down the hole into their safe hide out. Dagger followed suit ready to heal everyone up, and Zidane went to the boat to get Blank. He was extremely pale, and his arm looked horrible. Picking him up, and shifting him in his arms, he began to walk towards the house, glancing back up the river, not being able to believe that they had made it...

Smiling, he also lowered himself underground, into only a day and a half ago, he thought was a place he didn't want to be cooped up anymore, but now he discovered it seemed more like a sanctuary. Perhaps the blonde understood why the small underground house had been so utterly important to the resistance members.

When he walked into the kitchen, everyone seemed to be gathering at the doors, giving Dagger enough space, but spitting questions at the whole team, who refused to say anything. The raven haired girl was working on Beatrix, placing spell after spell on her, all the while Freya being ready to wipe off the blood, and patch her up. Blank would be next, and the blonde placed him on the table set up next to Beatrix's.

"Why aren't you telling us what happened?"

"Who did this to Beatrix?"

"How the hell did everyone get caught up in a mess the two idiots created?"

"Why did you guys go after them?"

"Who in their right mind would even care they left!"

"Is Blank going to be okay?"

"Steiner are you injured?"

"Are Blank and Zidane back alive?"

"Who's all hurt?"

"Who died?"

"Is that Beatrix looking like she doesn't have half of her body anymore?"

The questions went ignored by all the people swarming in the hall just outside. Except one voice was heard above all. She was screaming and shoving, people looking bewildered that she jammed her way through the entire mess, such a petite and dainty girl as she was.

"Where's Blank?" She demanded, her eyes swollen and red, most of her make up running down her face. "Where is he?"

"He's right here, Ruby..." Freya said calmly, pulling her the rest of the way through the crowd so she could see him.

She gasped, placing a white-gloved hand over her mouth, as a new set of tears filled her eyes. She hurried over, and fell to her knees next to the redhead, taking his good hand in her own. "Blank, what in the devil's name are ya doin'... Runnin' away leavin' us behind! Why, I oughta make a coat outta ya!" She sniffed, "You're such an idiot!" She put his hand to her cheek, and looked at him, "Darlin' wake up, please..."

She suddenly burst into tears, sobs wracking her small frame as she closed her eyes. Everyone stopped for a moment, pitying the over-emotional girl. She had been sweet on Blank for what seemed like ever, but refused to admit it, therefore she was always hard on him, and made it seem as though she hated him _just_ to cover it up... Unfortunately for him, she never had the guts to tell him quite how she felt.

Dagger sighed and went back to tending Beatrix, and turned towards Vivi next, who sat upon a stool, waiting to be attended. Freya began to patch the knight up. Slowly, and what looked painful, she stitched the young woman's back up, disinfecting it, and putting annoyntment on it every so often as well.

It was easy enough for Vivi to have a cure cast on him, though he still looked as though he would have some bruises for a while. Next, Dagger turned to Steiner and Zidane, and quickly cast esuna on the both of them. They had been close to freezing, and she wasn't sure if they needed or not... But she wanted to be safe.

Freya walked over to Ruby and put her hands on her shoulders. What the blue-haired girl thought would be comfort, actually made her growl with rage. The Bermecian had to literally peel her away from the redhead so Dagger could help him. She was placed next to Cinna, who had managed to squeeze into the room (though how no one ever figured out), and calmed her down enough to make her wait patiently.

After preforming a cure on him, she asked Steiner to crack his bone back into place, and for Freya to do the rest. The girl look exhausted and seemed to just need to sit down, or take a breather. They nodded at her request, and still no one spoke. Though everyone in the hallway parted for Regent Cid, when he came swiftly down the hall.

"I heard you were back..." He looked at the injuries that were quickly molding themselves together again by the magic being worked. "What happened?"

Steiner sighed, and glanced at Zidane with a hard glare, "Beatrix is still in grave danger of dying because of _him!_" The rage exploding from the knight's mouth made everyone slightly shocked - though they knew he was upset, they didn't realize the bloodlust in his eyes.

The blonde thought it best to stay quiet, but couldn't help himself, "She's alright now... Beatrix will -"

"You don't _dare_ say she'll be alright! She would be fine if it hadn't been for _you_ in the first place! Dagger would have never preformed that summon -"

"_Summon!_" Cid's eyes flashed with a powerful anger, as his head jerked to the girl standing in the corner, her hands crossed behind her, and her head bowed in shame. Her dark hair covered her eyes, causing her to cower away from the punishment that was down the road.

But this didn't seem to stop Steiner, "It's all your fault! You think it's alright that you simply leave! Injust! Injust! I strongly suggest you rethink yourself, thief!" He glared, "Just because we have someone who can cure, and I am ever so grateful she did for your sake, because you would be _dead_ by now! Dead!"

"Steiner I'm not -" He tried to reason, only to be interrupted.

The metal glove, along with the force behind the punch was enough to knock him into a few chairs, and blow him completely over. Everyone gasped and stopped, Cid putting a hand on Steiner's shoulder before it could get completely out of control.

Zidane groaned and intook a breath, gripping his nose and cracking it back into place. Dagger very quickly decided she would preform a cure after the heat of the battle had died.

"Zidane..." Cid spoke almost monotonious, in an attempt not to take sides, "Go to your quarters... We don't want anymore trouble. Dagger, go to your quarters... I'll be in to speak with you later... Everyone besides the ones on the mission, go back to your tasks! There is nothing more you can figure out until I hear the story! Everyone will be called together to be informed on what has happened after I have time to discuss it with them! Not to mention, they need a little time to breath..." He indicated to what had just happened between Zidane and Steiner, and slowly everyone began to back away and move back to whatever they were doing.

Dagger helped Zidane up, and quickly hurried out of the room, Zidane stalking behind her. Cinna pulled Ruby up, and asked if she'd like to go get some fresh water with him. She agreed simply because she wanted some fresh air, even if it meant being completely soaked after going out in the rain.

Cid tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for everyone to head out. Freya pushed down on Steiner's shoulders, forcing his knees to buckle and his large frame to collapse into a chair. Vivi was silent and scared, sitting in the corner with Beatrix and Blank's unmoving forms in front of him.

The redhead came around after long moments of silence between everyone else in the room. His emerald eyes ached as he saw the dim lighting once again, and he sat up with great difficulty. Vivi took to scraping his chair along the wood to sit next to the bandit, and it wasn't too long after that Beatrix came around as well, though she stayed laying down.

"Now that everyone is awake -"

"Where's Zidane and Dagger?" Blank asked.

"They were asked to leave..." Freya said, turning back to Cid, "Go ahead and begin..."

"Now that everyone is awake... I'd like to ask calmly of someone other than Steiner what happened... The whole story... Perhaps we should begin with Blank?"

All eyes shifted to him to hear exactly how the story had gone, and he sighed, knowing he shouldn't hide anything.

"Zidane has been bugged a lot lately, as you all know... By this feeling of his friends being alive, or not alive... I know that doesn't seem important, but you have to understand... I wouldn't have let him go... I was prepared to beat him down - believe me I was... But, he told me that if I had known that he were there, he asked me if I would have done the same thing..." He shrugged and glanced down at his shoes as though they were the most interesting thing in the entire world.

"He was completely right... I would have done the same thing... as would most of you..." There was silence as he took a quick glance up, and back down to the smudged wood on the floor. "Now, we made it there no problem... We got in, snooped around, and we got to the room that Zidane had found himself in when he first woke up... It was weird... All the cots were still there, and Zidane even found where he had been sleeping... But no one was in there."

"So it was the wrong room?" Cid questioned.

"No... It was the right room... He was sure of it, and I knew from the looks of it the cots had been used for quite some time..."

"Where were they then?" Steiner asked, an accusing tone swelling in his throat.

"We never figured that out... Can I just tell the story please?"

"Yes, go ahead..."

As he slowly relaid the story, the more and more Cid's anger and confusion was shifted towards Dagger. Beatrix went on to explain the summon, and exactly who she summoned, and so on and so forth. The Regent wasn't someone who was normally angry... But when he found out they knew now that the princess - his niece, Garnet, was alive and well... His irritation soared, though he couldn't speak outloud, because Vivi was there, and he was still undecided if they should know or not she was really a Princess.

Dagger had had the alabi ever since Beatrix and Steiner had came across Lindblum. It had a few black mages in it, beginning the invasion, but the plan was still under the works - it hadn't been taken over yet. That was the reason Cid was still alive to this day. He had found the two knights, looking tired and hungry, and his little niece, crying and scared, asking every so often where her mother had gone.

They informed him of the attack on Alexandria, and Cid only feared the worst. Though they didn't know Kuja had been there as well, and it was a miracle they made it out unnoticed, Cid knew it was time to leave. Thus, he packed up whoever he could find, and left Lindblum all together, his progress on his ships, his kingdom, and his life left behind.

Each town they tried to wander on in with their small band of about ten people who stuck with them was seized either soon before they reached it, or very shortly after. There were more times that the first ten members of the resistance had managed to illude death than every other member combined.

?

"_Uncle... Where's mother?" Garnet asked, her large, chocolate eyes glazed over with a sense of saddness and wonder that no one would answer._

"_She's away right now, Darling... Please, do not wander around outside our tent Garnet, Dear... Alright? The moogles have done such a nice job setting it up for you."_

"_Just for me?" She asked, momentarily distracted._

_She wrung her small fingers together, her dress bouncing when she moved back and forth. A change of clothes was one of the few things shoved in her bag her mother had given to her from her room._

"_Just for you!" He tapped her nose, watching in delight as she smiled. Her porcelain face glowed in the lantern light, and she seemed to be the only one who could smile at a grave time such as this one._

_The sun was ready to move on to another part of the world, its blaze cast golden upon the ground, for once a beautiful sight to another struggling day... Though with the night, the moon high in the glittering sky, came a fear that swept everyone silent and close together in the night. There was no rank or level of royalty with the ten of them... It was too risky to be spread out, and no one quite cared any longer._

"_Sir..." The young knight, Beatrix, with her beautiful chestnut hair peaked into the tent timidly. Her confidence was dwindling with the sun as she awaited permission to speak._

"_Yes, Beatrix?" He answered, making Garnet turn and laugh, standing and tripping again, only to stand again and hug her legs. It caused the youthful woman to smile._

"_There was no sign of Hilda again today. We traveled as far as we could, until we found soldiers and a group of innocent pepole being moved to Alexandria. There weren't enough of us to take them on, so we had to leave..."_

_Cid looked down at his hands, balling into so tight of fists his knuckles were turning white. "I see... We'll look more tomorrow."_

"_I am sorry, Regent."_

"_Nonsense... I'm sure she's fine..." He nodded, in an attempt to reassure himself more than the girl._

_She lightly tapped on Garnet's back, gesturing for her to return to her uncle's arms, and she did happily, her small giggles still floating in the air. But as soon as she was comfortable again, the question arose once more._

"_Uncle, where's mother?"_

"_Hush, Garnet..." Beatrix cooed to her in a soft voice; the girl only nodded and stayed quiet._

_Cid felt horrible that he could do nothing for the young girl... He was so grateful to have Beatrix there to assist, as he didn't have any children of his own, and he had only ideas on how to spoil the girl to her mind's wildest dreams when she visited him, and not how to actually take care of her._

"_Garnet..." He mumbled._

_The two girls looked at him. One four years old, and curiously awaiting what he would say following her name, and the other, eighteen years old, quietly anticipating what would be said next._

"_That isn't much of a safe name for her... Don't you agree Beatrix? In case one were to call out to her... She must keep this secret so long as Kuja has power to kill..."_

_The walnut color in the girl's eyes shone with a sense of confusion, "Sir?"_

"_She needs an alabi, Beatrix... A name that we can call her, disguising her from harm... But what? A code for Garnet til Alexandros the 17th... Heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Alexandria. The one with the ability to summon protectors to do just that for anyone she wishes... She is too known already at her young age..."_

_As he spoke to the knight, little Garnet sat on a blanket, eyes gleaming with amazement at the things laid out in front of her that her uncle had been previously fiddling with. Her tiny hands wrapped around his sheath to his dagger, he kept hidden beneath his robes, incase he needed to protect himself from someone so close._

"_Dagger..." Cid laughed, and the girl looked at him immediately, dropping the weapon and acting innocent. "Garnet dear..."_

"_Yes, Uncle?" She smiled, her proper words sounding silly coming from such a small and adolescent voice._

"_Let us play a game, hmm?"_

_Both girls peered at him in curiousity. The wind began to howl outside when the sun had sunk into the ocean of a horizon, and now Beatrix was fully in the tent, too afraid to stand with her back so clear in view to the outside nature of the world._

"_Okay!" She laughed, clapping her hands together._

_The Regent glanced at Beatrix, signaling to her to take note and to send the word to the others in the resistance of what was about to happen._

"_We're going to play a little bit of a detective game, would you like to Dear?"_

"_Yeah!" She giggled, eyes wide with excitement and wonder; she hadn't played a game like that in a while._

"_Your undercover name is going to be Dagger alright honey? And everyone is going to play with you... Whenever someone calls you Garnet, you are not to speak to them, not even acknowledge them... But with Dagger, you act as though it had been your name for your whole life..."_

_She frowned, a scowl etching onto such an underaged face looked so wrong, "Why?"_

"_That's part of the game!" Beatrix added in her opinion, in hopes of persuading the raven haired daughter of the Queen._

_She thought about it, her face pinched together as her simple mind processed those thoughts._

"_We'll go on detective adventures too, all of us as a whole... You get to be the leader my dear..."_

"_Me?" She gasped._

"_Yes of course," Cid laughed, "The leader when you're ready... You must prove you can go with us on these dangerous -" he winked, "missions and be called by Dagger, and not Garnet... To stay undercover of course."_

_A puny silence went by, and then she laughed, "Okay!"_

_Cid glanced at Beatrix with a delighted smile on his face, and she sent a fond glance at the both of them before turning outside the tent, and heading out to spread the word._

_There were only two tents, so they couldn't possibly be seen, though fire was sparse, only lit in the day time with things that wouldn't give such a nasty black, or even a gray smoke to let them be found out. One tent had six members in it, the other had four - newfound-Dagger, Cid, Beatrix, and Steiner - the last spot ever open for Cid's wife who had gone to visit family only a few days before the attack on Alexandria. They had to leave before she could return in hopes of finding her at a later time._

_They had to find a small town with a population close to their group size... So that they couldn't possibly be followed, or captured. Cid knew that Garnet was the key to a win in this war. He knew it would go on for a very long time, at least until they had more people, and their Princess was old enough to make right decisions... He could do nothing - he was imprisioned to give guidance to the girl who had to stand on her own two feet from the day her future Kingdom was attacked... He couldn't afford to die and leave her alone... Then she wouldn't want to face the future, and the world would be doomed..._

_?_

They gained many more people on their quest to find a place to live, and when they came across Dali, only people who were friends of friends could know where the hide out was... They laid their trust in the people of Dali not to abandon their cause out of fear if ever questioned, and for thirteen years, they had been oh so successful...

Back to the point in hand, after Cid had heard the whole story, he seemed torn on what to do. "I am at a complete loss as to what to do. Punishment shall be worked out of course, but other than that... We know not of what Kuja will go through to obtain the summoning powers of Dagger."

"That's what worries me..." Beatrix spoke up, "He's been after those summoning powers for thirteen years -" she was careful to leave out the Princess, and simply say the powers, "- and he's been after the resistance for thirteen years... And now he's after his precious dreamers... They're all in the same places... He knows that the power and the dreamers are intertwined deeply with the resistance, and therefore he can take out all three birds with one stone had he ever found out where we were hiding.

"Though I'm not going to say that he will find out, or that anyone will betray us, I simply must express my concerns for the safety of everyone, whether we're angry with them or not."

"I understand..." Cid nodded, "But there is nothing we can do at the moment. We cannot simply pack up the resistance and leave, especially not right after the fact... It would be too dangerous, and too suspicious. He could easily pluck off half of our numbers if we tried to travel across the open fields."

"Let's go by airship!" Blank though, a bright expression illuminating his face when he thought his idea was positively brilliant.

"All those people, all of our supplies... Where would we even go?" Freya wondered aloud, her voice wrought with gloom; it caused the redhead to sink into his chair.

"We must wait it out then..." Beatrix sighed and looked unhappily at the ground, "I like it here..."

It was the most unprofessional thing most of them had ever heard her say. She didn't sound her age of thirty - oh no... She sounded much younger, as though she was only saying that because it was her selfish, subconscious mind that willed her to stay in a place she had easily come to call home. She had almost spent more of her life underground in the dirt of Dali, than above ground in the beautiful city of Alexandria. It absolutely pained her to think about leaving.

Of course, no one could disagree with her at all...

No one would want to abandon the small piece of comfort they had left, living in their lives of hell...

?

**A/N: So I know it was kind of a weird spot to stop the chapter, but it was getting quite long again :D I shall go onto writing the next one as soon as I do the dishes! :D Weeeeee! I'm excited! I cannot **_**wait**_** to see everyone's reactions on the chapters coming up soon!**

**Review and let me know what you think!**

**-zesty-**


	22. Chapter 21: Argumental Conversations

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: Excitedness... No excitedness for going to school tomorrow :'( Sob.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it... You all should know that by now.**

**Chapter 21: Argumental Conversations**

Dagger sat on her bed. She bit her lip, stood up and walked to the door. With her hand on the handle, she decided against whatever she was thinking, and went to sit in a different part of her room, only to repeat the process moments later.

Closing her almond eyes, she tipped her head back, opening her orbs againt to watch the ceiling. She had done whatever she could to this room to make it seem like home, but she was hurting... She had been back at the place she had missed so dearly.

The girl was also a pretty good actress herself. The thing was: after she turned about eight years old, she mastered the art of pretending there was nothing wrong, and bottling up her emotions, as though they were never there. Yes, she cried about spontanious things that were in her life then and there, but as for her past life, her family, her kingdom - everything like that... She was as hard as a rock when it came to that...

Though now being back and seeing how much had changed from her old fuzzy memories of when she used to be a Princess, Dagger found that bottling those things up could be harder now... She knew when Cid came to her to speak about the summoning, there would be no time to get pity from him... No time to share the sadness of what had become of a kingdom he hadn't seen in over thirteen years... He would be angry - furious even that all those things that were so sharp in her mind that he had instructed her to do over the years for her own safety - the older she became, the less of a game he had made it like he once had when she had first heard her new name of Dagger - ended up being disobeyed... She had jeopordized a lot of things...

She was almost at the same level of fault as Blank, though definitely no one could beat Zidane's decision. That was the ultimate fault, and yet seeing the silent fury that seemed to build within everyone towards her, she could no longer find it in herself to be angry at the blonde.

That's when her course changed. She stood from where she leaned against a wall, her thoughts engulfing her so much she hadn't even realized she repeated the same process three more times until she was aware of what she was doing again. As quiet as she could, she opened her door, but before leaving picked up a necklace from her table closer to her bed.

The necklace was a beautiful piece of garnet from her mother that Beatrix had given her when she thought that Dagger could handle it emotionally, and be responsible enough not to lose it. It seemed to be chipped in half, then the metal clasp holding the gem to the necklace itself had been dented in, so the remaining piece of stone did not fall out.

?

Zidane laid on his bed stairing at the ceiling. His shirt had been thrown to the side, too much blood on it to be saved, his boots kicked off and left on a chair where he had to remember them so he could clean them off after Cid had come to see him... Most likely kick him out of the resistance to never see him again...

_Good riddence..._ One part of him thought. _I would be endangering any of the people I wish to fight to protect then... _Shaking out his dirty blonde hair, he quickly sat up as a knock vibrated on his door.

"Come in..." He breathed, being ready to be attacked once more, his nose aching still.

To his surprise, it was Dagger who quietly shut the door behind her. He felt the need to stand and explain something to her - _anything_ - but no words came to his tongue. Without any words spoken, she began casting a cure to help his nose, and he appreciated it a lot... It was rather annoying having to to breath out of his mouth.

She let on a small, sad smile, "Can I sit down?"

"Of course..." He nodded, pulling out a chair for her, as he yanked on a new shirt; sliding the material over his head he saw her looking around the room, attempting to look anywhere but at him. "What's wrong?"

She glanced at him, but quickly away, "I should be mad at you..."

"Yeah..." He nodded, "I'm kind of mad at myself, so you definitely have a right to be."

She looked up, "Then why'd you do it, Zidane? Why did you put those you love in danger? Why did you do something that could jeopordize something you worked so hard to create..." She pushed off the table and started to pace the room, using her hands to thrash the air, slicing it down as she walked, brow creased, voice full of disgust, "Why? Why did you not think about what would happen, and only care about the then and there? Why did you have to do something that would enable your heart to open up to things you thought you pushed away?"

He considered all of her questions as she paced, breathing heavily, intaking the kind of breath that said in itself that she wasn't done, but before she spoke again, he looked at her, "Are we talking about me, or you, Dagger?"

She stopped and turned to him helplessly. Her knees pressed together as her legs bent, and her breathing quickened as tears stung her eyes. Putting a hand to her mouth, she fell to her knees, breaking into sobs she couldn't hold back any longer.

She curled her free hand, not covering her whimpering noises erupting from her throat, and slammed it on the floor. She hadn't realized in such a long time how hard it was for her, and how much keeping bottled up emotions could make you snap. She was lucky she did in this way, and not in an angry fit...

Her thoughts beating up herself were interrupted when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Glancing up through watery vision she saw the blonde, a very sympathetic look on his face, knees bent, body bent at his waist as he rubbed his hand on her shoulder blade, pushing her hair off of her neck.

She saw how much he cared for her, when everyone else was angry. This was a good thing... A very good thing, because he had no idea... He had no idea what she was crying over, and he knew it wasn't a good thing to ask. She could just be upset, and he would just simply be there for her... He wouldn't pity her, or be angry about her actions or anything... He only knew the present and that gave her more comfort than she possibly thought she could receive.

Lurching forward, with both hands she squeezed his one hand, that had previously been dangling at his side. Salty tears rolled down her pale cheeks, dripping onto the floor, creating dark circles wherever they landed. All she could do was breath onto his hand, her dark eyes watching the moist spots on the floor as he comforted her.

"I'm sorry..." He said simply, not knowing what else to say... "I know, I can't promise you that things will be okay, or things will get better because I don't know... I can just promise that I'll be here for you, okay?" He pulled her up, and she hugged him.

It was a refreshing hug. It wasn't one of lust or romance, seeking somebody to be alone with, or simply happy or angry to see them - whatever the embrace might represent... It wasn't anything that spoke any emotion - nothing that could make her or him confused. It was simply comfort for a friend - something she needed very much... Though she had to admit in the back of her mind, that wasn't completely in turmoil - one thought figured perhaps she was a little happier that it was Zidane that was there for her... and not anyone else. A blush - such a silly thing as that - threatened to go to her cheeks, causing a smile to grace her lips as she cried, torn between a few emotions she couldn't pick out.

Zidane rubbed his hand over her back, offering solace to the broken girl in his arms. He pushed her hair out of the way with his other hand, and kissed her on the top of her head, breathing in the naturally delicious scent of her hair. He closed his cobolt eyes and smiled, rocking her back and forth for increased effect of the hug.

When Dagger had calmed down slightly, she heard two things clinking together between the two of them, and pulled back while wiping her eyes to see what it was.

There were two pieces of garnet between them, one on a thin rope, and other on a chain for a necklace. She glanced at the blonde who shrugged at her.

"I saw it before I left... I knew it must have belonged to you because I see you wearing the garnet around your neck all the time..." He smiled, "I wore it... and I was going to bring it back to you to show you I would come back safe..."

She smiled at him, touched at his mindset. That's when he took off the necklace, and places it against hers so the pieces fit almost perfectly together, give or take a few pieces that hadn't stuck to either large chunk.

"And I never break promises you know..."

She smiled and hugged him again, this time with a little more intention towards affection than anything else. He held the garnet tightly in his hand as he wrapped his arms around the girl.

While life for Dagger was falling apart, Zidane worked his own type of magic to the best of his ability to repair it again...

?

"Steiner, you need to calm down..."

"Calm _down_? The little rat is getting off easy!" He roared, punching into the table, leaving what looked to the brunette like a possible dent.

"What you would like to do is kill him!" She sneered, "You can't do that!"

"You're just being stubborn!" He crossed his arms and hunched away from her in his chair.

She smiled fondly at his child-like nature, and placed a delicate hand on his hand, "I think you are..."

He sighed and looked at her, "Beatrix, I - we could have lost you..."

"I know that... But I'm okay now, alright? And that's all that matters. I know you're angry with all three of them, but I also know you aren't exactly all that fond of Zidane. Of course you like him, but you have an anger, especially towards people you don't know as well... Just calm down alright? You know... Blank is right - if you were Zidane, and I were one of his comrades, you would have come after me as well..."

Steiner was silent, because he knew she was right. "But that's not the point."

"It is the point Steiner..." She nodded, and smiled slightly. "we're alright now, okay? We're going to be fine... Everyone is going to be fine... Zidane, Blank, and Dagger are going to get rhemed on a lot - the least we can do is not help make them feel worse."

"That's difficult." He glared at the table, and picked away at some chipping wood until he got to ansy and walked up to the cupboard, getting a glass, and filling it with some water from the jug on the rickety counter top. He stared at it for a while, not drinking anything out of it.

He moved it slightly, shaking for whatever reason was unknown to Beatrix, and she watched him as he put on his pondering face, watching the water as it sloshed back and forth.

"It moves so fiercely, and yet has no where to go..."

"Steiner..." She sighed and pushed herself off the chair, walking over to him moving slowly, "everything will be fine, alright?"

"Indeed it shall..." He turned away, chugging the water, before walking out of the room.

She watched him go, a feeling lurching in her chest for her to stalk after him and argue... It seemed as though her feelings for Steiner were there, she felt superior over him, just as she always had. It was pretty much a love-hate relationship... Rolling her eyes she walked out of the room as well.

?

"Are ya sure ya can go alone? I can come along if ya'll would like..."

"Why are you being so nice to me, Ruby?" Blank questioned, raising an eyebrow and glancing with a smirk at Marcus.

He face planted and shook his head, "Both of you are being ridiculous. Ruby you should just tell him, and Blank you are an absolute idiot!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" He glared, though didn't take offense. He felt cornered (in a playful sort of way) when people decided they wanted to make a point instead of share the joke with him.

"It means that you... are... dumb!" Cinna exclaimed walking into the room.

"Alright this is my cue to go get the water. See ya later..." He stood from the couch and was about to walk out.

"Don't ya'll go leavin' without me!" Ruby huffed, ruffling her green skirt as she stood, flicking the blue hair from her face.

"I never said you were coming?" Blank shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.

Ruby glared, "I try to be nice, and you just push me away!"

Blank chuckled, glancing at the others sitting on the discolored and unmatching furniture. They seemed to both shrug and snicker, watching from the background when Blank had to deal with the rage of a woman. And not just any woman - it was Ruby... _That_ name by itself scared half the Tantalus crew out of their shorts.

Marcus had made the comment once that they were absolutely ready to take on Kuja and take him down in less than ten hits - simple enough... But something they _couldn't_ handle, was Ruby on a rampage... He told the others in the group that he would rather face Kuja than her.

"Why's it always me you have to be yelling at?" Blank whined, causing the others to outright laugh; they shut up when Ruby sent them a glare, shortly after Blank began to scowl at the two.

He threw up his arms and walked out of the room.

"Ruby... Come on..." Cinna snickered.

"Oh hush you!" She stomped out of the room, leaving the two in the crew to begin to laugh.

Blank shoved one hand in his pocket, the other was in a sling, and when he looked down at it he only began to grumble. There was something about not having both arms that really bothered him.

"Blank..." For the first time in his life, Blank heard Ruby's voice as calm and soft, and possibly even a little caring.

"Yeah Rube?" He turned to her with a smile on his face, though it was really forced - he wasn't in the mood to talk.

"Sorry 'bout your arm..." She shrugged, "I wish there was somethin' else I couda done to help..."

"What do you mean?" He questioned, cocking his head to the side, confusion scribbled onto his face.

"I guess I was perty upset seein' ya there. I guess I was perty upset when ya'll left period..."

"Are you admitting that you actually dont hate me, Rube?" He smirked, until he got hit in his good arm. "Ow!"

"Quiet now! Ya dumb fool! What I am tryin' to say -" she looked at his puckered face, holding in a laughter before she threw up her arms, mimicking what he did earlier, and hooked his shirt collar with her petite hand, wrenching him up to her height, and slammed her lips onto his.

As the moments flashed by in an almost blur, Blank stood dumbfounded and completely shocked. His eyes were wide open, though you couldn't tell if you looked at him, but the funniest thing to him was that, as he stood there on his tip toes, being kissed by a nineteen year old he had always thought he was annoyed by, and always thought she hated him... He found that he was kissing her back.

When finally she nudged him backwards again, causing him to stumble almost to a fall, her face was slightly irritated, "Now do ya'll see what I was tryin' to say?"

He nodded, still unable to speak.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" She raised an eyebrow, and places her hands on her hips, popping one out, and leaning forward, "Now ya didn' think it was all bad, did ya?"

He shook his head, words not able to form on his tongue.

She sighed, almost relieved, "Good!" She glanced at his arm, his hand balled into a fist, poking out of the side of the sling. Carefully she placed her hand on his, and he released it as she let on a slightly fond (at least that's what he thought it was) smile, "Does it rain on your parade, Darlin' to not be able to use it?"

"Not being able to use it? Fuck! You're lucky to still have an arm you damn kid!" He grumbled, walking away.

The two of them turned to see a man wondering away, anger apparent by the red painted all over his face.

"Was that that man with a nub?" Ruby asked, turned back towards the redhead, who found a goofy grin break onto his face.

"I think so? What was his name...?" She smiled at him, seeing as he wasn't really having a nervous break down about what happened just then between the two of them.

Blank shrugged, and turned towards the girl, a slight blush rising to his cheeks as he scratched the back of his neck, "I'm going to go... Get the water..." He walked away, leaving her standing there smiling and shaking her head at him.

Though they had cleared up the feelings they had for each other, for some reason it seemed like their relationship was going to get harder from then on...

?

"Do you remember if you have any family, Vivi?"

"What?" Vivi looked at Freya, who sat stitching up some cloth to create some clothes for anyone who needed extra pairs.

He had been learning the stitch pattern from the Bermecian, who wasn't very good herself - but it got the job done. He felt he wanted to help more than he was, though she insisted that he was helping enough by simply being there, but he denied it and wanted to help more. Seeing as Vivi had never been that persistant about anything, she allowed him to watch her, but she felt they needed conversation as they worked.

"Do you remember?"

"Oh... Um..." He got quiet as he picked up a needle, and concentrated on threading it.

She stopped and looked up, though he couldn't see her aquamarine eyes on him due to her hat, he realized she had halted her work, and froze as well. When she started back up, he went to work again, having difficulties but finally threading it.

"Or any friends you might have known? You mustn't answer if you do not wish... I was simply wondering, as no one really hears your side of things..." She smiled at him, though he was still embarrassed by her words.

"I think... I did have my grandpa."

"You're grandpa?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah... He had a dwelling in a cave somewhere..." He smiled fondly, "I don't remember a lot about it, except the wonderful smells... He was a great cook, and we lived really happy until..." He trailed.

"Kuja's soldiers?"

Vivi nodded meakly and sighed, putting down the needle, "I wonder if he's still alive..."

"I bet you could probably find out... Do you remember his name?"

Vivi shrugged, "I don't know if I would want to know..."

"Why not?" She questioned, watching him in the bright light. It was about the only room in the whole underground headquarters that had bright lighting. Candles scattered every shelf that was able to be nailed into the stone, and on every table that wasn't occupied with cloth, scraps, needles, and thread.

"Because... what if he was dead? I would know then, and it would make me sad..."

She didn't really know what to say to that. That's where her and the young mage differed. She wanted so dearly to know if Fratley was dead, she had considered a few times heading back to Bermecia to check up on him... She hadn't been back there in over a month, and even before that she didn't know exactly where Fratley had gone with their king... She was only in the city with a few other Bermecians, trying to find any clues on the death of some of their friends before they were run out again by black mages.

But she figured that the one with the hat had a very good point. Perhaps she shouldn't worry herself with the health of Fratley... Maybe if she didn't wonder, he would show up to find her one day again... But if he never did, and she never found out he was dead, she could put it into her mind that he was out on an adventure, and would eventually come back...

He definitely had the right mindset.

Tugging some string with her teeth, she watched Vivi mime her feeble movement.

"What about you, Freya?" Vivi asked, in an attempt to get the spot light and awkward conversation off of him.

"Me?" She wasn't really used to speaking of herself to anyone - she forgot on occassions there were so few that knew her story - perhaps it was because she always ran over it so many times in her mind, she expected everyone just carried the knowledge.

"Yeah... Where did you come from? Is anyone still alive?" Somehow, the mage brought the gloomy subject up from a murky pit, where it was something almost _refreshing_ to talk about - perhaps by his voice.

"I came from Bermecia... It's west of here... Past the mountains, and closer to the sea on the other side of the continent than anything... Kuja's mages flocked the place. My king and his guards had to hide underground, trapped in the very city..." She left out a large chunk - the whole part to do with Sir Fratley.

Vivi noticed, but never asked. He smiled, "What's it like?"

"Beautiful..."

She described it just how things used to be... She never normally liked hot summer days in sand with no rain and absolutely zero sound, but... It had been so long since she was even able to hate it - that it would probably sound rather nice to her now. Unfortunately, she figured there might never be a time in her risky lifestyle that she would ever witness that again...

?

"Why... That's all I want to know..."

"I thought it was the only way... I am sorry..."

"What's done is done... I just pray there aren't consequences..."

"Are you really that angry with me?" She stiffened, looking up at him with gleaming eyes.

Dagger had left Zidane's room, dodging any people besides one moogle in the hall, darting back to her room, and able to sit for only a few moments before her uncle walked into the room, his long cape fluttering behind him as he moved. There had been a lot of silence to start the conversation, but other than that... He hadn't yelled at her - at least not yet.

"Of course I'm angry... But I am not going to be angry for a long time. I cannot be angry about something I do not have the power to change..." He sat next to her and put a hand to her cheek, "But my dear... Dagger..." His voice dropped, "My dear Princess Garnet..." He carefully moved her hair behind her ear, only to have her bangs fall back in front of her face, "I don't want you to get hurt..."

"I know that... But I can't stay cooped up here forever... I cannot just sit by and watch everyone fall! I couldn't control being stripped of my kingdom, but I can control being stripped of my friends...!"

"You are the one who can change the future, Dagger. And though you don't have to be alone while you do it... You are ultimately, the one who will rebuild the world after Kuja falls... You cannot die before that - we can't afford to lose you."

She looked away, looking at the lavender quilt on her bed, stitched together by her own mother, all those years ago. The girl had carried it with her that night, whether in her bag upon her shoulders, or in her arms when she was embraced by her mother she did not know, but it had been with her for as long as she could remember.

"I know there are people who are angry..."

"Just angry? They're furious with me! The only reason they've spoken to me at all is because of Beatrix! I know I made a mistake! I'm very much aware of things I could have done differently..." She turned her head away from her uncle, and this time away from the quilt. "I could have ruined everything..."

"It is not entirely your fault... You needn't worry, Dagger..."

"You can't promise me... Just like no one else can... That things will be okay..."

"You are correct..." He bowed his head, eyes closed, looking older than his real age from the stress of the war. "But I can do my hardest to try..." He nodded and stood, patting the girl on the head. "You are exhausted, Dear... Please, get some rest."

She nodded and watched him go, tilting her head and smiling lightly in the dreary light.

Despite the fact that everyone was telling her they couldn't promise that things would be okay... She felt that with the people around her she did have... Maybe - _just maybe_ - they would turn out to be just fine...

?

**A/N: NEXT CHAPTER IS EXCITEDNESS! Woooot! Too bad I'm too tired to start it tonight! Sob xD I hope you've enjoyed the chapter and the story for that matter, and that you all keep reading.**

**Oh and... REVIEW! :D**

**-zesty-**


	23. Chapter 22: Unknown Outcomes

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: I'm not sure WHAT is going to happen in this chapter, but I know the interesting stuff is coming really freakin soon!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 9, or any of its characters... The only people I do own are the nubby guy, creepy guy who seems blind, the mage who helps Vivi train, some random Dreamer people who no one knows if they're real or fake, some drunken guards, and General with a funny name.**

**Chapter 22: Unknown Outcomes**

In all honesty, nothing had really calmed down in the past twenty-four hours. Though everyone's injuries were still healing tremendously well, the anger and uproar throughout the resistance was even _worse. _When everyone else had been told the whole story there was an outrage. Most of the resistance didn't know that Dagger was indeed a Princess, but they did know that summoning power was something Kuja wanted greatly.

Most everyone was reluctant to even trust the blonde, and unfortunately Vivi either. For the whole day after they had rested up, hardly anyone except those who had been there, and the Tantulus crew (along with some older members of the resistance who had a more levelled head) would even look at them. Therefore, the two dreamers stuck together for most of the day, staying out of people's way.

There were many though, who tried not to be too hard on any of them, whether it be Dagger, Blank, Zidane, or anyone

else for that matter. What was done, was indeed done, and it seemed that, though there were many atrocities that would remind them of the attack their main group had endured, after everything - everyone was still safe.

They could get back to their normal lives - they could do what they had been doing, and working to do before Zidane had decided that he was going to leave. It seemed as though no one could stay angry with them for a large amount of time... Everything would be perfectly fine...

That, at least, was what Beatrix had hoped. There she stood in the pumpkin patch to the right of the small amount of buildings that were close enough together to form the small town called Dali. She had been attempting to do some work in the gardens, hoping that the rain had helped, and the plants would have a little something to them so that the resistance could put the pumpkins to use... But she hadn't gotten very far.

Out in the distance she saw the observatory. It seemed almost like a picture, painted into the very sky, so that it seemed to be there, simply in - perhaps memory, or just paint spread onto a canvas. She sighed and leaned against the fence, taking in the calm atmosphere of the outside.

The sun was about to set, and it seemed that there were not a lot of things disturbing the sounds of nature's harmony. Crickets chirped, and the wind seemed to play a note or two on the grass, it swaying together, swirling in with the sounds of the water, distant sounds of children laughing before the inn, awaiting their parents to call them back home.

That was what Beatrix had hoped for when she was young. She hoped that she could grow up and marry a handsome man, live in a small place, close to the size of this one, just outside of Alexandria so she could still visit her home, and where most of her family lived. She wanted to be able to see the beautiful, serene scene that changed day to day, something contrasting so greatly, it was hardly recognizable, even if she was still standing in the same spot. She wanted a few kids so that she could be the one, leaning outside the doorframe of her small, cozy house, and call their names, watching the beautiful mixture of genetics create angels who would run home and feel safe when in her arms.

All of those things had still been in her mind, when she had first started training to become a knight. But as time went on, and she became so much more dedicated to her work, and less about having friends and watching the tiny things in life that everyone seemed to take advantage of. Soon, she hardly noticed anything she used to love to watch, whether it have been a bug on a leaf, or the clouds forming shapes in the sky...

The only thing she had been ever faithful to watching was the sunset. Even being stuck in a hole for the past decade and a half, she realized that she would always sneak away to watch the only beauty that seemed to be left in the world.

She thought it was kind of ironic... She was grown up now, living in a small place, close, though not right outside, to Alexandria, seeing the extravagant features of the world, and she had kids, though teenagers and only about fifteen years younger than her, flocking to her for safety. It wasn't exactly what she had imagined, but for now, in the hell-stricken world she lived in, it had to do.

The same portrait that was cast out before her almond eyes was disrupted. She tilted her head to the side, not fully comprehending it for a moment. The rolling hills caused the facade that made the meadows before her seemingly flat, but still... She hadn't seen the figure moving at all before... Had she simply been too caught up in things to notice?

Pushing herself off of the fence, she turned around, ready to head back inside. She sighed looking at the pitiful orange plant on the ground, before kicking it lightly with her boot. Glancing back again, she saw the figure, stone still, not moving at all.

Shaking her head, she decided not to disturb her thoughts with the possibilities, and pushed open the door to the mayor's house. She saw a glimpse of them at their dinner table. The mayor glanced fondly at his wife, looking intrigued as to what their daughter was saying to them. A perfect family.

Closing her eyes, she was forced to turn away from what she didn't have, and down the hole to where her life had been condemned - seemingly to her desire for a family: unimportant, though undeniable...

?

"It was real weird..." Beatrix walked into the kitchen, interrupting a conversation between Cinna, Marcus, Blank, and Zidane.

Cinna was telling of some odd event, while the three had a mini food fight with applesauce found on their theater ship, too old to possibly eat. It seemed no one was listening to their tan skinned friend as he recited what he had seen.

"Are you guys even listening?" He glared, only to be hit in the side of the face with some of the mushy substance.

Zidane and Blank stifled a laugh, before finally, seeing as he wasn't wiping it off, burst into howls of laughter. Zidane, who was sitting on the table, doubled over, clutching his sides as the sound of joy echoed about the small, rickety room. Blank had been leaning against the counter, and was now banging his fist on the surface, the pounding sounds not nearly as loud as their hoots of laughter.

Marcus was chuckling, in an attempt to look serious following the wrath of Cinna's glare.

"I'm being serious guys! The figure was doing _nothing!_"

The flash of the interrupted scenery entered Beatrix's mind, as she glanced at the younger man, a look of complete seriousness, and slight panic on her face, "What figure, Cinna?"

With urgency in her tone, the others stopped laughing, sombering up before awaiting what their friend would say.

"I was in the pumpkin patch this morning, and I saw some _thing_ in the field, just like standing or squatting or something there and -"

Beatrix flew out of the room, stumbling as she turned, and quickly grasped the ladder, hoisting herself up into the mayor's living room, rustling about with absolutely zero grace. The daughter of the mayor, her black hair not yet pinned up, jumped back in surprise, a small gasp escaping her mouth. Beatrix had no time to stop and apologize as she tripped out of the house, and dashed to the pumpkin patch.

The dawn was errupting graciously. The purple clouds loomed in the sky, pink overtaking most of them as the sun came up over the horizon. It took such a time for the rays of hope to touch the land of Dali, so many mountains and such being in the way. But there was the figure still, hardly having changed positions from the night before.

The knight whipped around, her chestnut hair hitting her in the face as shivers were sent trekking up and down her spine. Hurriedly she went back to their hideout, and went to Cid immediately, banging on his door, and yelling for him to be quick because it was positively urgent.

A few people, Dagger included, stopped curiously, and somewhat worried to see Beatrix flying around, almost teleporting she was moving so quickly.

"What's wrong, Beatrix?" Cid asked, raising an eyebrow at her motives.

"A figure in the fields... I thought it would be alright - some rash villager too far out in the sunset... But previously I was informed it was still there - from someone who had been out there a little earlier this morning... I looked out there myself... Same position, and same exact figure..."

Cid bit his lip, pondering this, while the woman could have ripped her hair out. She was panicking, for the first time in a long time, allowing a lot of possibilities now slip through her mind.

"I myself cannot look... Why don't a few of you go out to see if you can make out what it is?" Beatrix nodded, in an attempt to stay calm as she gathered a few people and went topside.

?

The morning air was cool, but felt nice after a damp night underground. The soil hadn't yet dried after the heavy rains, so the fresh air was quite enlivening. Chatter arose from the people who made their way to the pumpkin patch, though Dagger stood faithfully by the older woman's side, trying to make sure she was okay.

When they reached it though, all signs of enjoyable morning talk was completely over. They all stared at the figure, able to be seen more clearly now that there was no sun shadow behind it.

There was a man standing out there: he had on silver armor, shining in the rays of golden light decending upon the grass. It swayed around him, and from what an elf that was with them could see, his face was completetly expressionless. But his eyes looked as though he were ready to kill, and that's what scared all of them.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he let out a yell. The group of people in the patch flinched back at the sharp noise filling the air. Out of the illusion of flat land arose an army of people, looking almost identical to the man standing there. Beatrix leaned forward, straining her eyes to see.

"Soldiers..." Dagger gasp, stepping backwards.

Everyone stopped and stared, flicking their eyes from the girl who had just spoken out of shock, and the people arising before them. All but the knight. She was staring wide-eyed at each person that derived seemingly from the surface of the grass and dirt.

"Aww..." Baku watched from behind the knight, a brooding horror rising in his chest, "Shit..."

"What do we do?" Dagger whispered.

"Maybe they haven't found us out yet... Let's just go back down to our hide out, and wait for them to leave..." Beatrix turned around and ushered them all backwards.

A booming voice, enhanced by a certain magic, seemed to overtake them, as they all stood, paralyzed with fear, frozen to the spot they stood.

"The group in the plants!" The voice was ominous and rough, "The _resistance members_ in the patch!" It thundered, causing everyone to shutter, and slowly turn their heads to look at the man who had stepped forward. "We know your resistance is here! You have no time! Surrounder now, and consequences for treason, kidnap, and more trecherous crimes against The Lord Kuja shall not be as sevre! I don't like to repeat myself! Come out now!"

Beatrix whipped back around, and mumbled, though loud enough for everyone to hear. "Run!" Everyone bolted along the buildings, trying to hide from sight as a few arrows were cast their way. Quite quickly, the woman kicked down the door to the mayor's house, as everyone dropped inside she knelt down to the little girl.

"Where are your parents, Honey?"

"They wented out!" She gasped, dark eyes clouded with fear.

"Stay upstairs, alright Dear? No matter what - _don't come down_ - not even for your parents! Hide in the best spot you can, and wait for your parents to physically go upstairs and get you, okay?"

She nodded, and Beatrix vanished, down into the underground hole to try and evacuate.

?

"Vivi you're the smallest! You have to!"

Tears streamed from the Black Mage's shining, yellow orbs, "But I'm scared!"

"We'll be right here, Vivi, and they won't see you, okay?" Dagger bit her lip, her heart sinking watching the mage panic at being killed, or failing at the task at hand.

He finally nodded, and climbed unsteadily up the ladder, and onto the top of the windmill, where he looked around for the soldiers. Crawling to the otherside, he almost screamed, as he scrambled to stay low, as though the soldiers might see him from afar.

They had abandoned their post, just within ten minutes worth of time, north of the building clump of Dali. Now they were in the east, coming in down the road, because their element of surprise had already passed. That was the only reason they had spoken out - they had seen the same young woman come out, and look at them multiple times - they knew their cover of one statue was shot.

The troops were going to attempt to flock them out, towards the one hole to get underground. It was a great defense; the only unfortunate thing being that it was also digging their own grave... It was their only escape. Or so the soldiers thought. It was hardly ever used, and three fourths of the resistance didn't even know it existed, therefore... They weren't sure if they should use it or not...

That second escape... it would have to be a last resort...

?

**A/N: So I wasn't gona end it right there, but the next chapter is going to be wicked long :D I'm kinda excite for it, so I hope you all enjoyed the build up! :D What will happen with the resistance? :D**

**Review!**

**-zesty-**


	24. Chapter 23: Fight Or Flight

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: So I know it's been a long time since I've updated, but I've just wanted this chapter to be real good (When I say update - I mean update chapter like... 17 maybe? something like that) And when I stop writing, even if I'm ahead, I stop updating. Anyways :) Thanks for reading everyone! I appreciate it so much! I've been waiting for this chapter for a very **_**very**_** long time :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9, or any characters affiliated with it, and am in no way making profit on this story - unfortunately :D**

**Chapter 23: Fight or Flight**

Chatter of confusion flittered through the halls, as everyone gathered in the small area. It was a good thing they had all decided upon the largest corridor, or else everyone might not have fit. Murmurs and whispers laid close to the ground, as the volume of questions was high like smoke from a fire - the sound echoed off of the walls, bouncing off of the dirt, wood, and metal that held the whole hide-out together.

That very hall held a whole resistance, and seeing all of them together seemed almost as though it were a bit depressing. There weren't many of them - compared to the army Vivi had seen outside... But most didn't know about that yet. Finally, a loud scraping noise was heard as a chair was dragged across a metal sheet that had fallen to the ground, as Cid stood in front of everyone, arms raised in leadership.

"Today a grave feet has happened!" His voice boomed above all, drowning out any other sound daring enough to make itself known at that moment. "Our enemy is upon our doorstep! Up on the grass, under the sky Kuja's soldiers slowly move closer! They _will_ discover how to get into our hide out. It will be a game of cat and mouse - but eventually, no matter how hard the mouse tries - it gets caught by the cat. We have been dodging these fiends for _years_, but I fear it is now time to make a stand! Make a stand, while trying to flee!"

A great roar arose among the people. Enemies were coming? Since when? Why weren't they told earlier? They didn't have enough time - they weren't prepared - and the resistance was _always_ prepared.

"Everyone!" Cid yelled out once more, causing everyone to go silent, or at least reduce the noise, "There is one way into this resistance strong-hold that you all know of! The hole in the mayor's living room. It's obvious - it will be found out! You have all used it to go out and see the sun, to preform great missions for this group of people... That is the way they will get in..."

"How do we get out?" One called out, fear apparent in his voice.

"There is one more way in..."

Though a loud blast of noise was heard, it was because of all the whispers blowing together - a new piece of information about a place they had lived in for years... It was near impossible.

"Past the pumpkin patch just a ways, is a wooden latch... It is not locked, and there is only sod over it - no mounds of dirt, nothing hard to push up... This hatch-like door is through my quarters... We must make haste though! Grab everything that is important to you - and as much as I hate to say it... We must leave the rest. New supplies will be found elsewhere - we simply are out of time -"

A loud pounding echoed through the halls. In a roaring rumble, it hit the hall with all the members, and that's when they knew they were in trouble.

"Go! This way! Get everything you must! They're coming!" Cid screamed, as things quickly exploded into disarray.

People were screaming - a few female members sobbing to snatch up the youngest members of the resistance. There were people being trampled, gaining bruises and causing blood to spat onto the dirt, together creating a crumbly liquid mess on the floor of the once organized place. Shoving and pushing couldn't be gentle, as Zidane was shoved side to side, people only caring for themselves at that moment - and getting the things they needed out from the resistance.

He wasn't the tallest member in the resistance by far, but he was quite a bit taller than a lot of people, and he jumped, smacking the palm of his hand onto people's foreheads in an attempt to raise himself up.

"Dagger!" He yelled over the panicked screams; he shoved a little, and pushed a little, but to no avail in finding the girl, "Dagger!" He screamed now, his breath beginning to pick up speed.

Noise filled his ears, and hair and heads blocked his sight - he was completely oblivious to where anyone was that he knew personally. People yanked him back, his tail being forcefully wrapped around people too much in a hurry to realize they were hurting other. Another person next to him tripped, falling face first into the ground with a sickening snap to some bone in their body as someone's large foot stampeded over it.

Curdled screams, cut off by spit and air were heard, as people were killed by their own kind, running them over in the hallway. As people began to clear out, more screams of fright were heard down the halls - the soldiers must have made it in.

Zidane drew his dagger, careful not to hit anyone with the sharp blade, and turned to go with the tide of population, running backwards towards most of the rooms.

Magic was being spewed off everywhere, sparks flying from firega spells, ice chunks sparkling, though deadly in the air, as they were shot not even a centimeter away from Zidane's face. Wind blew up the dust and the smoke, blinding everyone almost instantly, and water began to seep into the dirt with a waterga spell. Sharp, straight flashes of thundergas, along with the booming noise to go along with it, shot at random people, higher and louder screams filling the narrow hallways.

Zidane dodged as much as he could, and dove to the ground, throwing dirt up at a mage in the front, he slit the ankles of the creature, before it tumbled like dominos backwards towards the other mindless mages. Soldiers were shooting arrows, hoping to hit someone in the smog, but hopefully everyone in the resistance was stronger than that, not to get hit anywhere fatal with an arrow. He heard the clashing of swords somewhere further back, and the adrenaline began to leak into his blood stream.

Throwing himself off the ground, he smashed someone in the face with his dagger, the sharp blade splintering the man's skull through an opening to see in the helmet, as the blonde twisted the blade, and yanked it back out, blood gushing like a waterfall out the hole. If it had been anyone else besides a soldier, Zidane might have felt pity - for the man was not dead.

He was backed against a wall, his tail being hit with an arrow as he flinched and ducked, just in time for an axe to smash the wooden pillar behind him. He glanced to his left to see Beatrix kick down a man, only to be hit in the back with a club from a burly, stupid looking man above her. Zidane gave up his last defense, and flicked his weapon at the man's stomach, inpaling him far enough for him to drop the club and stagger back.

Another gust of dust blew up, and he could no longer see his brunette superior.

?

Dagger was violently shoved into her room, barely making it into the space without being washed away with the sea of ongoing people. Quickly, she ripped through the small space, grabbing a bag, and shoving as much in as she could. Unfortunately, she had grabbed the smaller of her two bags, and she only had limited space. She smashed a small statuette on the floor in her haste, and out fell the Falcon's Talon - what proved her birth right... Beatrix had told her about it some time ago, and told her never to take it out, incase of someone knowing it was she who was a princess.

Shaking her head, she figured it didn't matter now, and shoved it into the bag, and began tearing books from their shelves in her speed to get to the back of the shelf. Glancing hastily at the door, she knew soldiers would be there any moment, and she yanked out a few pictures that she had, along with an unopened letter, and smashed them into the bag, and tripped to the bed, so she could pull open a drawer.

A spell flew into her room, setting her bed on fire, and Dagger lay close to the ground, in hopes that no one saw her, as only a foot away, she watched her mother's quilt burn with the fire, licking towards the ceiling. A gruff, and unclear command was yelled into the room - one she did not hear, and a triumphant yell was heard, before the door was yanked shut.

She would surely die in there if she didn't leave, and glancing down at her nearly-full bag, she figured she had what was most important to her. Quite quickly, she rolled to the other side of the room to stay away from the smoke, and began bashing at the door with her staff. It was completely jammed shut...

?

Vivi pulled with all his might, a bleeding and struggling Cinna. He knew that he couldn't leave the poor guy behind, but the Tantalus member only wished to get up and fight again. It was truly slowing Vivi down, and it was a miracle the two hadn't been stepped on - or that soldiers hadn't caught up with them quite yet.

He could hear the guards from a short distance off, only hurriedly trying to drag Cinna all the quicker. The small mage almost tripped to his death, but upon doing so, saw guards plaguing Ruby to the right. It was a crevice in the hall, and even a bigger crack in the fight. It seemed dim and quiet back there, contrasting with the bright sparks of war just feet away.

Vivi dragged Cinna to the right, and shot off a blizzard spell at the two guards, freezing them in place. Ruby pulled a dagger out of it's sheath from her leg, and smashed the hilt into the ice sculptures, shattering them into thin pieces that seemed to almost rest in the air momentarily.

She bent down by Vivi and kissed the brim of his hat, helping him to yank Cinna onward toward escape. But neither the blue haired actress, or the young black mage knew for certain if they would make it...

?

Beatrix made sure to grab Zidane's dagger, wherever he might be, and shoved it into a hidden sheath in her long combat boots. Yanking up her sword, she slashed into more people, blood splattering onto the metal, and floor. The crimson liquid seemed to be everywhere she looked, and though she had been around it so much in her life, the sight and thought of human slaughter haunted her - though she knew it was her duty.

The people all running along side of her, and against the flow to try and fight made her almost dizzy. How could something like this happen? She, as quickly as she could maneuver, slid on her feet, throwing dust into the air, around the corner, and lead a group of people towards Cid's room. She knew the chamber doors were that way, because she could see the light of day.

She wondered if this was the hard part - getting out of the rabbit hole alive - or if it was running across the open field... Without being shot down...

?

Steiner made sure he watched his footing as he ran up the hillside. Though he knew he should have stayed behind, he had to protect those who wanted to leave faster, as he seemed to be one of the only head people of the resistance who had made it out so far. His worst fear was for Dagger at the moment - what if she hadn't made it out.

Shaking his head free of these thoughts, he focused on watching the sharp edges of his combat boots slice into the thin bladed grass, watching it fall to the earth, never to grow taller again. Spells were missing him only by inches, although the aim was getting worst as he moved further away.

It had been bugging him for a while - he just had to stop and look back - he needed to know just what kind of army was sent after them. As cautiously, though quickly, as he could he whipped around, eyes widening at the sight. The first wave had gone under ground, but behind them there were still never ending rows of people, ready to wipe out the resistance.

Either Kuja had thought there were an emense amount _more_ members, or he wanted a five-hundred percent sure that every member was going to be killed. Knights on chocobos rode up the back, it seemed like miles away the trail finally ended. Clumps of people were keeping tabs on the outside of the small town of Dali, trying to make sure there was only one way out of the resistance besides the hole. The mayor's house had been started on fire, and he prayed there was no one inside...

All of the citizens of the town, who had trusted the resistance members, jepordizing their safety, and the safety of their family and friends to keep the secret of the only people who fought completely against Kuja, those who were the only ones brave and skillful enough to stand up to him... And now all they were doing was betraying the trust of those people. The population of the town was left behind, as the resistance selfishly fleed, leaving the city to deal with the high treason of their crime.

He thought about the women and children, and even the kind men who had inhabited that town, and he had to turn away. Though there was nothing Steiner could do alone, he knew that he must keep going... No one else would stay behind to help him - they wouldn't understand in the panic of the situation.

Steiner was a knight, so he was used to this sort of thing... For over half of his life, he had been trained to protect, and to stay calm in these sorts of situations... Which ultimately meant... He was one of the few that would actually think of others, in a time to think selfishly...

?

Sunset was dawning on the horizon, shattering the straight rays that had been appointed to the village during the day. Still soldiers were flooding into the hide out, and still people - stragglers now - got out. When Steiner had managed to escape, there weren't many people with him, and even fewer made it towards the observatory where they were assigned to go...

There was a smokey haze over the town, the villagers crying as their hope was being scattered like cockroaches under a flashlight. Citizens, soldiers, and resistance members alike all fell in the line of fight or flight that day, and now there seemed to be an endless heap of people trying to make it through the tall grass, whether by slowing down and crawling, so as not to get hit by spells, hoping not to be pierced by an arrow, or trampled over - or worse - having the soldiers catch up to them, or by running, hoping not to get hit by spells and arrows, but easily moving quicker than the soldiers... In some cases - it was a lose-lose situation...

the lazy colors slowly began to change across the sky, as lavender prickled the opposing side of the sun. After that, night would soon fall upon them, though the town of Dali would be lit up - the fire still spreading higher and higher as time went on.

But worse than the smoke, worse than the cries, and worse than the invasion that many were witnessing was the feel of death in the atmosphere. The taste of copper soaked the air, no longer breezy, but more smothering than anything else.

Finally, dizzily, Dagger managed to flee with a bit of the last remaining resistance. Through the halls they ran, soldiers now almost everywhere. She had to shove and push, cast spells, and strike down most of the soldiers.

Slipping along the wall, she narrowly dodged arrows, and actually had to yank one out of her thigh, throwing it like a spear back at whoever shot it, hoping to hit him, only to watch the clumsy weapon fall and break in two on the floor. As she stumbled along the path of her comrades, she watched large clumps of dirt, and even some wood fall from the ceiling.

Worriedly, she glanced behind her, only to see in horror, the soldiers behind her, and last staggering members of the resistance get crushed. The whole place was beginning to collapse.

With a newfound voice, she screamed and picked up the pace, pulling people who fell behind her forward, even if she basically had to drag them across the ground. The dirt that arose when things started to collapse was hitting her neck rapidly, and she could feel the heat around her from the nervousness that came off as persperation on her body. Almost sobbing, she threw whoever she was holding onto into Cids room, and began to scramble out of the opening.

Whipping around, she held out a dirty gloved hand to the last, shorter member. She was young, only about eight years old, unable to hoist herself up. Enemies were as close as the pumpkin patch, deciding to move forward a bit, to see if they could hit the running people. Dagger stretched her arm out, the rest of the hide out about to collapse on the poor girl.

Sobbing, the girl jumped at her hand, and gripped it tightly, though not at a very good angle, as Dagger was shot in the side with a thunderga spell. She yelled in pain as a fire ripped through her bones and bloodstream, and she felt like she could scratch straight down to the bone to rip out of her body, whatever was on fire.

The girl's last hope was gone, but Dagger threw her hand down there anyways, though she was now weak in her side. This time, the raven haired teenager inspired the girl to be quick, as she basically jumped onto Dagger's arm, as she half pulled her, and the girl half climbed out, just as the last supports snapped, and both girls' home was destroyed for good...

At once she forgot about Dagger completely and stumbled to run.

"Dagger!" It was Zidane's voice that brought her too, and she gasped seeing him standing not too far away.

Along with him, was Blank, Marcus, and an extremely pissed off Baku. They were all holding back as many soldiers as they could kill, though Zidane didn't have a dagger... She stumbled to get up to join them, but as she began to run, she was ripped back down into a sitting position, the thing holding her back being her hair.

"I don't think so..." It was a woman, much like Beatrix - stronger than most idiotic male knights, who didn't know what the hell they were doing. (I mean nothing against men, that wasn't meant to be sexist... I'm referring to the Knights of Pluto :)

She was young - about their same age, and she smirked with an evil grin, a few strands of wavy blonde hair falling in front of her face.

Dagger struggled as much as she could, in an attempt to join her friends who were distracted with a new, and extremely powerful group of enemies. They took a special interest in Zidane, though the group of four wasn't sure why. Easily, Baku was taken down with a simple few people tackling and tripping him, smashing their boots into his head until he was unconscious.

Zidane was taken down in a similar way, his last glance, wide eyed and shocked at the blonde grabbed onto Dagger's hair, though it went completely unnoticed by the two girls. Dagger screamed, as she watched him fall to the ground, attempting again to stand, only to be yanked backwards once more.

Blank and Marcus were shoved together, ramming into each other, as they fell to the ground, and a boot was placed on each of their chests. If they tried to move - they'd surely be dead.

"Finish them off!" The girl commanded in a rough voice.

As one boot lifted over Blank's chest, he held his breath - ready for the worst... He figured this would happen - figured they wouldn't be able to get out of there, without someone dying... It was just too sudden - there wasn't enough time...

"Stop!" Dagger screamed.

"Why?" The blonde chuckled and yanked her back, then forward, and around in a circular motion, "You can't do anything to stop us..." She peered at the young girl and spat in her face, "_Princess!_"

Dagger wiped away the spit on her cheek as she jerked her head around, "You stay away from them!"

The blonde woman smiled, her pearly white teeth glinting, "Why don't you finish them off, huh? Right in front of her eyes! Then we can take her back to Lord Kuja!"

Dagger knew she had to do something. She had always been a leader - she had always known that she would have to do something one day to save people - everyone had always told her that... This wasn't some drastic sacrifice though - oh no... It was just something that had to be done. It's not like it would hurt her at all. She elbowed the blonde in the knee, causing her to cry out - that's when her team members about to kill Blank and Marcus stopped and looked up.

A dagger was dropped out of the girl's hand and Dagger picked it up, only to have the blonde scoff at it.

"You versus me, you wouldn't win and you know it!"

"This isn't for you!" In a spout of courage, Dagger gripped the woman's hand, holding it tight to make sure she couldn't move, and sliced the dagger through her own hair. She heard the snipping sound it made, sharp and brisk, before it seemed as though a certain weight was lifted from her shoulders.

For as long as Dagger could remember, she always had beautiful, long locks of raven hair that everyone complimented - that hung around her porcelain face, and what people knew was a sign of confidence simply by looking at the girl. Now she didn't know how it looked, not even _touching_ her shoulders anymore.

As everyone stood stunned, Dagger mustered up the power she could and began a summon. Though it wasn't a very strong one, as she summoned the eidolon Ifrit. Heat seemed to inject itself into the atmosphere, until it almost wasn't bearable anymore. People who had never seen a summon - which happened to be most soldiers and civilians alike - watched in amazement as the creature spawned out of a hellfire magically brought upon them. Fire sprouted out of all of its limbs, as though everyone was meant to feel his wrath. Soon this fire hit everything - and put the heated spells to shame, hardly even steaming at the blizzard spells that had been casted everywhere.

Dagger watched in amazement that she could summon something upon them so powerful. This was the decoy she wanted as fire erupted over everything quicker than a volcano. As soon as it was over, and the powerful, gigantic creature vanished, she stumbled through the aftermath of the smoke, and hit the two down over Blank and Marcus. Carefully, Blank and herself pulled Baku along as fast as they possibly could, Marcus carrying Zidane.

They didn't know who they had killed, or who they had left behind... The only thing that they knew at that time was that they escaped...

Though, the question was, as they raced through the grass, tinted a fiery orange from the blaze they were leaving behind, where would they go, once everyone who could reached the observatory?

?

**A/N: Well there's the fantastic fight chapter :D Finally something happened right? :D I couldn't resist having Dagger cut her hair... Annnyways :D I hope you enjoyed! Please review!**

**-zesty-**


	25. Chapter 24: Taking Leadership

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: Okay it's been a while, but I'm still going :)**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Final Fantasy 9. Maybe it'd be better if I just let you know if I ever do :D**

**Chapter 24: Taking Leadership**

"Finally! For once something we're good at!" Marcus laughed horsely, too much smoke being inhaled from Dagger's latest blast. Everyone was at the observatory, hustling about trying to find everyone that they cared so dearly about, attempting to be calm when everything was in disarray.

Their numbers had been cut in half... at _least_ and their loss was much more than the loss of the ambush who had attacked their previous hideout with little to no warning. The only plus side was that now they fit onto two ships, and though it was a little crammed, they'd be able to make it out _if_ no spells were shot at them, or worse... The fight took flight... Kuja had resources... A shitload of resources... And perhaps maybe he had hidden airships he never had to use... And therefore, unfortunately, he could follow if the one last standing resistance could be crushed.

But, they would only take airship if it was quickly decided... No one knew what was going to happen - it was only Marcus who thought that they should fly - no one else had the organized mind to think of it yet.

"Dagger! Dagger!" Cid was yelling and shoving, in an attempt to find his niece. He was so scared - he shouldn't have left her, but in the crowd of people he had no choice but to move to help everyone, instead of just the girl. This was the first time in some time that people had seen Cid with an emotion other than happiness or clear of any feeling at all. Their was worry in his eye, and though not much of his mood was showing, everyone could easily tell he was in a panic.

Screaming began on the outer skirts of the observatory and more people pressed outward to know what was going on. The army stumbled through the smoke, half attempting to get to fresh air, and half wishing to persue whoever fled and shoot them down, friend or foe.

A decision needed to be made quickly, and Cid was just about to return to his quest before a magic spell caused a booming voice to beh eard from down the hill and closer to Dali.

"Resistance! We know where you are! You have _no where_ to go! Step down now, and we will not be forced to take severe actions!" When there was almost silence as a reply, no one still able to see them because of the smoke and natural lump in the ground, the voice boomed again.

"Garnet til Alexandros 17th!"

Everyone gasped, and that's when the members that knew Dagger was actually Garnet held their breath.

"We know who you are! You cannot hide! We know that you are the leader of this resistance, and these are your pitiful subjects... Surrender now, and we won't kill them!"

People began to mumble and look around, wondering who it could be...

In the end, it was Dagger, short, raven hair, and eyes that showed no fear, betraying what she felt all over the rest of her body, glistening with bravery. "Listen up!" She yelled, sitting on the shoulders of Marcus who had helped fuel her already boiling plans to flee by airship.

Everyone gasped, including Cid, at seeing the girl. Baku and Zidane were just coming to, along with a few other people who had been knocked out and dragged away by stragglers fortunate enough not to get shot down by arrows and spells alike.

"We cannot fix what has already happened!" She boomed over everyone, trying to make her own confidence sound convincing though she was sure everyone had more than she at that moment in time. "We cannot undo their findings of our our headquarters - our protection... our home!"

Her powerful words caught everyone's attention, and not even the people on the very outer edge of the group were paying attention to the soldiers not so far away.

"We must move forward, and if we cannot protect our location or supplies, we must protect each other! I know that what happened back there was tough, but now it's over! We're still _here!_ I know that some of you, who look around and don't see your friends are hurting," she herself couldn't find Steiner or Beatrix anywhere, "But you must understand that there will be time to grieve... The people we have lost want us to be safe! They gave their lives so we could live, though we were all trying to flee. They would want us to find safety first! It is a vow in being in this resistance!"

Though it didn't seem like it on the outside, everyone was at least a little moved by her words, and comforted to a certain extent, though not as much as she wished - it was a start.

"I have a plan!" People were amazed... "They know now what we consist of! They know now that our numbers were great, but they also know now that we have been tremendously hurt by this attack. They know that we possess two of their dreamers... They know that also Princess Garnet is with us, and maybe even worse - the summons along with her...! I know that most of you look to her, though I know that you think she died long ago, as a symbol of hope... Well please, allow me to keep being that symbol of hope... I have to say I must apologize from keeping my identity from you - but it was for the safety of all of us! For Alexandria, Bermecia, and Lindblum!"

Dissaray and chatter began to flow again like an angry river just thawing after winter, loaded with unwanted bits and pieces of what the season left behind from excess water, to disgusting and half rotting plants and trees.

"I am Princess Garnet til Alexandros 17th, heir to the throne of Alexandria. Though I am thought to be a beacon of hope - I am no different than your resistance leader! This should make it even more apparent that I fight for a cause so important, though no greater than anyone else's... As your leader, and as that hope, I plead for you to listen to me!"

Instantaniously, everyone stopped talking, hoping that she would get them out of there... They wanted to believe any comfort they could at the moment.

"We are going to take the airships! Though supplies are lost, we will just have to start over! Think about thirteen years ago when the founders of this organization had to start the resistance - it was tough, but it grew into something powerful and beautiful! Please, I beg of you, trust me! The airships will fit all of us! I know that it might be rough, but they will get us out of here safely. If Kuja has airships, it'll take time for him to be able to launch after us. By that time, I am hoping that we're going to be long gone! We have to make haste if we want this plan to work! Tantalus crew, split up! Your crew has the best work with airships, and I want it cut in half so we can all depend on the people who know the ships the very best! Baku, please be on one ship, though don't fly, have Marcus do it. And Regent Cid - please, on the other... You created the ships, I know you can fly them, and I wish for us to have a safe journey out. Head North! Though we don't know what we'll find in the forgotten lands, we'll have to trust that anything, and I mean _anything_ is better than here! Now _move out!_" A loud cheer errupted, and everyone scattered, naturally dividing in half.

The theater ship, Prima Vista, held a healthy chunk of people - that's the ship Marcus and Baku would be commanding. The other, Hilda III, was much more advanced, but still in testing stages. Everyone hoped it would be okay, especially with Cid driving and controlling it.

Dagger tried to look past all the stares and awe-struck looks between her hair being gone, and it finally coming out of the bag that she was Garnet, to discover the people she wanted to see. She hoped Zidane was around somewhere, and wouldn't be mad at her, and that Beatrix and Steiner would be there to support her, but as she boarded the ship with her uncle she didn't see any of them. Turning away dejected, she wondered now that the plan was in action and she couldn't do anything more to help, how many people were lost. That's when she had an idea that she would try and find everyone, to see their loss...

Turning her back on her uncle, high in concentration with a lucky survivor, a young girl from Lindblum who escaped the city just a month ago, and never left his side when it came to airships, she pushed open the door to somewhere other than the deck. People actually found a clever way to spread themselves out on the spacious Hilda III, but there still wasn't a lot of room. She shuffled around the corridor, making sure to check the face of every person in the room, to see if they were who she wanted them to be. If not, she still made sure they were alright, and even answered a few questions for some people who didn't seem to be angry.

?

Freya sat on the deck of the Prima Vista, legs dangling over the edge of the wooden vehicle, as she watched the ground angerly. They were leaving. That she was okay with... What she wasn't okay with? The whole resistance moved except for Sir Fratley and the King. There were no brave souls who would be able to aid them incase something went wrong. What if Freya never got back to them? What if she never got back to _him_...

She wasn't much of an emotional person, but as she watched the last of Alexandria that she would see in a _long_ time swoosh past her, unreachable, though she wasn't sure she wanted to walk upon the terrain, Freya Crescent watched sparkling tears fall onto her long, nimble hands.

She tipped her hat out of her eyes so she could scrub at them, willing herself to be strong. Sometimes though, there was a limit that she had just broken, and things were too much.

The whole stupid war - though it had been going on for ages and ages, and many more million years to come, she was so sick of it, and the turn of events that had happened was unfortunate. She cursed Fratley for once in her life, for being more dedicated to being a knight, than to being hers, and for that she shamed herself. She didn't want to feel that way, but she couldn't help herself - not when she realized she might never see him ever again.

Or perhaps if he didn't believe that Freya was so strong, and as dedicated as he was... If he didn't insist that she was, he might have allowed her to stay with him in Bermecia even when things went down the hole. She never once considered that he dismissed her from the city so that he could protect her, and even though that was true, still to that day Freya did not know it.

The only thing she had knowledge of was how much she wanted to see him. She actually almost wanted to jump.

The door opened behind her, and not being so hasty as to fall, she tipped her hat back down over her misted eyes, to shield her miserable feelings from the rest of the resistance - they didn't need that at the moment.

?

"There's a message in from Hilda III."

"Well! What are you waiting for! Answer it you dumbshit!"

Blank scampered over to the button and hit it as swift as he could, the image of Cid and the girl known as Shelly popped up on the screen, but the main focus was Dagger.

"Blank..." Dagger smiled, though he couldn't tell through the glitches.

"What's wrong Dagger, is there trouble?"

"I was actually wondering if you could report to me who all is on your ship, I would like to see who we're missing..." She turned away, and he could tell she was in distress, so the only thing he could do is nod.

"Who are you looking for specifically, Dagger, it'll be easier to tell when we're all together again, but I'll look and see if they're on the ship..."

"Steiner, Beatrix, and -" she felt stupid saying it in front of everyone on the ship, and her cheeks went bright red, "Zidane..." A few people chuckled and whistled, "And Vivi too!" She hastily insisted to try and cover her tracks. But the damage was done - even Vivi let out a small laugh.

"Well Zidane is here for sure, so is Vivi... Hey look! The little guy is laughing at you Dagger! You don't have anymore friends," He smiled, in an attempt to make everyone listening feel a little lighter about the situation. "I'll check on Beatrix and Steiner, then get back to you!" He winked and pressed off after she waved good-bye.

"Hope you can handle everything -"

"Shut up." Baku ordered simply in his gruff, angry voice. Blank rolled his eyes and wondered away, ready to scout out the whole ship.

?

The moon set its light, causing the normally white clouds to shine silver. The stars twinkled, giving a dim illumination through the windows of the ships. Though there were no crickets, grass whispering in the night, or water trickling down a small stream, steming over rocks and such in its path, everyone felt a small breeze, and much was quiet, except the occassional puffing noise they would hear from passing through a cloud - but that was extremely faint and not many heard it at all... Nevertheless it was a relaxing sound.

Beatrix, who had found Blank after numerous people said Dagger was looking for him, and insisted that they weren't looking everywhere in the ships for the missing people, and that's what everyone wanted to believe - so they did for the itme being. Once it was time to get off the ship, everyone would really know who was gone...

But then they thought of something else. How long would they be _on_ the ship.

There wasn't all that much supplies, and people were already hungry and tired, wishing for nothing more than endless water. It wasn't as though they had it before, but they wanted nothing more than to have it, and the thought of it just made all the inhabitants of the ship cranky and weary of the ride.

Their wondrous ride, starting as a new adventure, was getting old extremely fast, and as the flight moved towards the earlier hours of the morning before the sun - four or five o'clock - everyone was tired of sitting around - they were restless and some considered jumping off the edge of the ship just for fun.

Even if no one would actually do that, it worried every sane person on the ship... How strong was their bond together when there was no danger present, and no sense of hiding on a dumb ship, not able to move away from the people they're with and get alone time, and no food or water basically on either ship. How long would they last before everyone snapped and completely ripped each other apart, verbally and possibly even physically as well.

The question is what haunted almost everyone as they tried to control their own tempers.

Cinna jogged over to Freya, so still sat in the same spot, not wishing to sleep when so much was on her mind. Persperation was forming on his forehead for the five second job, even if the night was brisk and not at all warm. A lot of people had moved to the outside, but nearly no one was sleeping.

"Hey Freya -"

"No..." She put out a hand, coming in contact with his face and shoved him back, making him fall over and roll back, bowling someone over.

Grumbles arose, and everyone began to blame Cinna for everything, because he was the only person who had done something wrong, and the only person that should get any sort of blame - so that's where it all went. Irritated with the Bermecian, he shoved past a few people and went _right _back inside.

?

Quina cocked his head to the side. It went this way and that, and the few people watching him mimicked him out of pure habit. It was so fun to watch the Qu doing whatever he was doing, even if his motives weren't all that clear. There he sat, in front of a crate, his tongue hanging out, drool dangling off the end as he flopped his head to the left. The tongue danced in that direction, still wagging back and forth. Then he'd flip his head to the right, and his tongue would swing in that direction too.

There were only a couple people watching him, but as soon as they blinked, Quina suddenly attacked the crate, easily stabbing through it with his fork and such before random bags of chips and peanuts fell out. It must have been a theater ship sort of thing.

People in the room cheered and grabbed a bag, while Quina shoved two into his hat. They let him get away with it since he found it, and then they picked up the rest, ready to bring a package to however many more people they could find on the theater ship.

?

Vivi sat uncomfortably on Hilda III. He didn't really want to talk to anyone - the only person he would be interested in speaking to was Zidane, but he was on the other ship. He wanted some explination in a way that he would understand, about what happened, but he knew that he wouldn't get that until he had Zidane without anyone else round.

Closing his eyes once more, he huddled closer to the corner he was in, trying to sleep on the wooden floor. It wasn't as though it was uncomfortable, but the images of all of the people he had known and started to call friend who had been shot down so close to him he could have reached out and touched them was disturbing. He didn't want to sleep, and he didn't want to look for comfort from anyone - they had their own stuff going on at the moment.

As he tried to close his eyes again, vivid images of the blood of one man splattering onto the wood in front of Vivi's shoes from his mouth, an arrow had shot him through the neck. The crimson had bubbled and foamed in his mouth, creating what looked like a red drink that the man forgot to swallow. Vivi backed away, absolutely stunned, because the man didn't die right away. He twitched and struggled on the ground, sliding the arrow back and forth in a desperate attempt to get it out, before only moment later, he fell still.

Vivi oculdn't move for a while, before finally Ruby had pulled him up and moved him. She sat with him for a few moments, rocking back and forth at almost a peaceful and shy rate. His eyes wondered over her movements in wonder. How could a girl be so unphased by what had happened - it completely befuddled him.

"I know what ya'll must be thinkin'." She said finally, not even looking at the black mage sitting next to her.

A short silence elapsed before she spoke again, with a slight chuckle in her voice, "It's funny... Black mages bein' the very things we just run away from... and yet, here I am, sittin' talkin' to one 'bout what's gone and happened..."

Vivi looked down miserably to the floor. It seemed to spin underneath him - she had come to blame him for what had happened?

"I know you must be hurtin'... Like ya'll think it's yer fault... You and Zidane kinda... But the truth is Vivi, that it's not neither one of yer faults. They were boundin' to find us anyways... The rabbit in a trap is always hunted... Like my Papa used to tell me before I left! Ya'll, specially you since you didn't do diddly squat - Zidane mighta played more a part than you, but you got nothin' to worry 'bout! You should be thinkin' instead about how you can help other people! That's what a resistance is, ain't it?"

"I don't know how..." He answered in a small, timid voice, as though whatever he said would make or break a relationship with the girl.

She could only smile, "I came here to thank you."

"What?"

"Back there - in Dali... You iced them perverts tryin' to get sweet on me... You stopped 'em dead in their tracks... and fer that I gotta thank you!"

"Well... I guess you're welcome then."

"That's helpin' people, Vivi. Doin' them good things yer conscious is tellin' you..." She smiled and stood, "Ya'll don't go blamin' yerselves - specially you Vivi..." She smiled and kissed the brim of his hat before winking, "Yer doin' a mighty fine job helpin' people, simply by not bein' under Kuja's control anymore!"

With that she almost danced away, as though part of a secret ballet - life as her stage. He smiled and leaned against the wall, slowly slipping into a semi-relaxing sleep - something he had needed for a long while.

?

"You look drained... Lemme take over..."

Marcus let out a giant yawn, falling back and allowing the Genome to take the wheel. He watched as Zidane went into his normal habits - just like he used to have - though just with an older touch of them for the few times he had taken it out driving since he'd been back.

"Baku is _out_!"

Zidane chuckled, "You should be too... I'm not all too sure where I'm going..."

"It doesn't matter. Just follow Hilda III. If you can't see it just keep heading due north... Eventually we'll hit something that makes us want to stop..." He yawned once more and sprawled out on the wooden floor, closing his eyes.

"Got'cha..." He trailed, and stood in silence for a while, directing the ship wherever it needed to go. Turn the wheel when it needed to be turned, and fly straight when it needed to be flown straight.

"Hey Zidane?" Marcus questioned, hoping for a reply even after the five minute silence.

"Yeah?" He answered, not bothering to glance back.

"What do you think..."

"What do you mean?" He cocked his head to the side, though still didn't look at his team mate.

Marcus watched as he asked his blonde friend questions, the clouds puffing and whipsing past them, and he wondered where they would land. The ship was almost silent, full of too many people who had prolonged sleep far too long, and needed some serious shut eye.

"About Dagger..." He mumbled, staring a hole through the back of Zidane's head.

The blonde was silent for sometime, watching the clouds and early morning light whiz past them in an almost peaceful, serene way. His arms moved slightly left and right, trying to keep the ship straight, and to ensure a smooth flight for all of his passengers.

He was about to answer when a startling beep echoed throughout the control center of the room. Both of them jumped and Marcus slammed the button to recieve the message immediately. Instead of Dagger, Cid was on the screen this time and he was grinning ear to ear.

"We've done it! We're at a wonderful location! Get ready to land immediately!"

Zidane glanced back at Marcus, and they smirked. Their flight had gone flawless, but as Marcus ran off to spread the news, a gnawing feeling began to eating away at Zidane's stomach...

The flight was perfect sure, but what was to come?

?

**A/N: Okay, so not the most amazing chapter, but next chapter should be good. Where are they? Huh? Huh? :D Hope you enjoyed! Oh by the way - there might be confusion on how I say one person is one one ship, then I say that they're on the other ship too - just ignore it please :) there was no way I could work it out quite right :)  
**

**Review!**

**-zesty-**


	26. Chapter 25: It's Not You, It's Me

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: :) I'm happy today. (June 5th)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of the characters.**

**Chapter 25: It's Not You, It's Me**

_"Gaaaaaaaaarrrrrrgh!" _A fireball was shot across the room, zipping past the man, heating his armor until he could feel it on his face, and hitting an unfortunate plant on the other side of the room. It blew up in flames, and its now-withered leaves began to fall onto the floor, creating a pile for the fire to ignite from.

As it danced to its own ballet, ice began to form across the leaves of the plants charting the sides of the glassless windows lining the walls.

"This couldn't possibly be happening!" A simply venomous voice snaked its way out of the man's mouth, causing the general to flinch back slightly, though not enough for the furious being to notice.

"_Ahhhhhhhhh!_" He whipped his hand across the wooden table, a warped piece of glass from the heat rises and falls in the room smashed against the wall, falling into a million glittering pieces in the ice and fire whose reflection caught it. "Tell me it isn't true!" He hissed.

"I am sorry M'lord..." He bowed as low as he could, his eyes even seeing the blue thread of the carpet leading to his Excellency's desk.

"How did this happen? _How?_" He demanded, slamming a curled fist onto the wood, shaking everything upon it, quite like an earthquake would to the world... His fist was the earthquake to the world of the desk as a marbled ball held on a stand fell and plummeted to the floor.

As catastrophic as it seemed for the marble to fall from its world, it only make a slight chinking noise on the floor, and the gliding noise it made as it rolled away was the only sound, though almost silent in reality, was brought forward front and center, to make it the only heard noise in the room.

After it rolled long enough to be stopped by something, the general took in a breath to speak.

"Their resistance was quite large -"

"I sent _more_ soldiers than there could _ever_ be! No matter _how large the resistance was!_" He barked and snarled, angry fire burning fury in his eyes.

General Strand calmly stood as he waited to continue. Once it was silent again he began to speak once more, "it was cut in half... That was a very good thing for us - however... They were then able to fit on two airships hidden away, that we were unaware that they possessed..."

"If the ratty Regent of Lindblum is still with them, they of _course_ would have ships!" He threw his hands up, before lashing out and pounding a column behind him. His fist did no real damage... The architecture must have been reassured for exactly this reason...

"Shall we have them followed?"

"_What?_" He shrieked, tromping forward like a dinosaur ready to eat after three weeks without food.

He got right up in the generals face, about ready to kill him, and out of fear, and respect he shrunk back.

"_No one has even began to follow them yet? Of course I want them fucking followed!_" Kuja boomed, shoving the man backwards, "_Get out and get started!_" He roared, as the man scrambled from the chamber.

His breathing had increased after he slammed the two wooden doors shut, and he stumbled to hold himself against the wall opposing the door. He would live to see his children again...

He watched as the mysterious blonde woman walked by, her head held high and proud, emerald eyes shining with an all knowing sparkle. She pushed open the door only to have some sort of glass break right next to her head. Quickly shutting the door, eyes bewildered, she whipped around accusingly.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"You had to see it to believe it... Besides, I have a family I want to get home to see..." He stood then, his composer better now, and strode on by, his crimson cape swaying behind him, as he felt the girl's eyes pierce into him.

?

Everyone was tired as they all wondered off the ship, extremely weary of where they were exactly. Once again, they all looked around for people who they thought they had lost, and some found who they were looking for, others did not. As soon as every last person was off the ship, tears broke out, but out of joy or sorrow would depend on the person.

Dagger stood in front of everyone, not bothering to look. She didn't want to yet - she was scared of whom she wouldn't find... She had known some of these people since before she could remember, others joining her, knowing her for the full length they had been in the resistance as well. It seemed as though the close bond everyone shared was being slowly ripped in half, and she imagined it like pulling apart something sticky. The strings of substance left, sagging more and more, before the pressure was too much and they broke, each end falling against the side it took...

Shaking her head of the silly metaphor, she stood on a cliff, looking around. She wondered just how far north they had gone, and exactly where they were.

The terrain was horrid. All of her life, she had been used to lush land, able to lie in the grass and close her eyes in comfort. Rich soil covered the area, and beautiful, tall, old trees stood with their emerald leaves shining and shimmering in the wind.

This place though... It was sandy and barely any grass grew there. Some parts, there wasn't even dried dirt, but simply sand. The sun was hot, and she couldn't see any water at the moment. Biting her lip, she turned back at someone approaching her. It was Beatrix.

Yelping in an almost relief, she hugged the older knight as Beatrix laughed, a smile dancing upon her lips at seeing the girl up close once again. After they pulled back from their embrace, Beatrix ran an armored hand through Dagger's hair, causing the girl to flinch.

"At least it's even..." She smiled, "It still looks beautiful Dagger, don't worry..."

The girl nodded, unsure of the whole thing all together. Her shoulders and neck felt bare without her hair there, but she knew it wasn't growing back as quick as she wanted, but she could only agree with Beatrix... That was all that was in her power, after all.

"Where are we?" She questioned to the knight, hoping that she had seen more than Dagger in her life.

"I..." She bit her lip, and glanced back at all the people, still having or lacking a reunion. "couldn't really say..." She trailed, looking at the situation from a rather negative point of view. "Maybe if I saw a map or something like it, I would be able to tell where we are..."

"I guess our best bet is to keep everyone moving?" Dagger tilted her head, and made a decision, "I see something that might look like shelter up there, so let's head that way..."

"Sounds good, I'm sure everyone would be happy to stretch their legs."

The walk there was more difficult than not. There were a lot of people who pasted out, simply from lack of food and water. Not to mention the injured needed a lot of attention from Dagger, her being the only one who could cure. She instructed everyone _not_ to use potions - a waste of supplies... Hopefully they would find a place to rebuild, but from the lack of good structure, they weren't sure if they'd be able to. Everything was hot and dirty, and there didn't seem to be anything very stable that they wouldn't have to worry about the dryness killing their buildings simply by the dirt slipping out from under everything.

When they finally got close to the structures, everyone began to moan and complain. It was up a steep and narrow path, some people not able to walk well enough to stay upon it. But they all knew they had to try, so they took a little time to rest up.

Dagger sat with her back up against a rock, closing her eyes when she felt the presence of someone sit next to her. She expected it to be Beatrix or her uncle, but when she looked up, she saw Zidane. Glancing away, she tried to use an old tactic - hiding her face in her hair. It seemed though, that that didn't necessarily work anymore. Coughing awkwardly, she looked at him again.

"Hey..." He said, his voice as awkward as she felt.

"Hi..."

"So... Your Highness... Do you want me to like, bow or some shit?"

Her cheeks grew hot, and she bit down on her lip - she knew this would happen, "Please Zidane... I'm still the same person."

"I would have acted a little different, if I knew who I was talking to all the time..."

There was a long pause, before he finally made a face and spoke again, "Ahh, probably not, but you get what I mean."

She let out a laugh, and that's what he had been hoping for. "What happened to your hair?" He asked, tilting his head, "I mean! It looks good - really good... Just, why did you cut it?"

"It wasn't a big deal..." She smiled, "It was more or less getting in the way... I just thought the time was convenient. People tend to use it against me - and they know what I look like too much..."

"So... Is that a way of hiding what happened, or keeping me from worrying?"

"A little of both? You don't have to worry about me, Zidane."

"Oh I know..." He laughed, "I mean, I was going to say - you being gone would kind of ruin my chances with you... But I guess... Damn, since you're a Princess or Queen or whatever you are - that really blows my shot." He stood then, taking in her dumbfounded face.

Before he left, he winked, "See you at the top..." He walked away then, wondering over to where Vivi lay in the sand, his ever glowing eyes unable to be seen as he tried to get some shut eye.

"What did he mean?" She mumbled out loud, unsure of his exact intensions behind his words.

?

Beatrix sat confused and worried upon a rock, nursing the last bit of water she had left with her. She glanced over all of the resting people, and wondered, _'Where is Steiner?'_

Yes, she was definitely worried. If he wasn't there, he would be thought to be dead... Or worse - what if he had been left behind? Though the heat was causing her to be uncomfortable, and her armor stuck to her, chills branched up and down her spine.

What if that had been the case? Then she would have hoped Steiner was dead - the torture he would endure from them was too much to think about. He wouldn't be able to protect Dagger along side her... More importantly, she would never see him again.

They were both stubborn people when it came to emotions besides pissed off. She had always had a fondness towards Steiner, whether it was returned or not. To think of him gone, especially without having told him how she felt, just to see if he felt the same back, was frustrating and not to mention heart breaking. Shaking her head, she stood and sipped the last bit of water in her canteen.

"Everyone listen up!" She yelled, making more than just a few people jump with surprise, "I'm going to start up the path! Anyone who wants to come with me, may - someone else will lead a group sometime later, when more people are ready to go!"

Only a small amount of people, including Zidane, Ruby, Quina, Marcus, and a few others rose to follow Beatrix up the steep slope, and narrow path.

As they walked around the corner, they looked up the path. It was about the thickness of the root of a tree - actually, some thought that's what it really was... And if you fell, you fell an amazing distance depending on how far up it you got. The only hope you would have to survive is hanging on, swinging around, and getting back up, and having some very trustworthy friends.

The bark was woven together in exquisite detail, and though it was entrancing to look at, everyone had to keep their focus. Beatrix led up the path first, followed by Ruby, then Zidane, and bringing up the back were Quina, then Marcus. Ever so carefully they walked, attempting to balance, and hoping that they didn't make a single mistake.

Zidane did the liberty of looking down, to see wondering eyes from the camp. Everyone's eyes looked scared from what he could see, and he glanced over the people's faces that he knew, wondering if they were scared or not for the ten of them making their way up. His eyes washed vaguely over Dagger, but by the simple glance he could tell she was confused and worried about him. His conversation must have really puzzled her mind.

Chuckling slightly, he kept going up.

As they got further and further, more death defying off the ground, the tree's thickness and walking area began to widen, and they more easily could stand without holding on. As they walked forward, more confident than ever, Beatrix's heavy armored foot hit smack in the middle, and the bark gave way. She gasped as he whole leg slide though, as she now sat, straddling one side of the root.

Everyone made a sudden moment, causing a couple more people to fall. They all grabbed on, Marcus leap-frogging over Quina to pull the people in front of them up. Zidane turned around behind him to help one struggling man, in his upper fifties back to safety. Ruby side stepped Beatrix, taking the lead and sitting down on the log.

"How stuck are ya darlin'?"

"Dammit Ruby, what's it look like?" She barked, trying to keep her balance. She suddenly couldn't trust this wood, and it scared her being this far off the ground.

"Well... Pretty darn stuck if ya'll ask me..."

Beatrix almost snarled at the girl, but managed to contain herself. With a small amount of energy, and almost no sleep, her desire and ability to stay calm - just like her knight training - was failing. Zidane came to her aid as quickly as he could.

"Don't freak out on me, okay?"

"Oka -" In the middle of the word, she let out a scream of distress, as he kicked a hole right behind her butt, and her fear of falling backwards, plummeting to her death was more apparent now than ever. "Zidane! What the fuck are you doing?"

"Don't worry, you're doing great. I'm the one who should be worried."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She barked.

He stomped again on the wood, causing another piece, this time under Beatrix's right thigh, to collapse, and she was sitting on something closer to a pole than anything now. One last time he kicked, ignoring her protests, and her hair flew up, and her arms automatically rose, as she fell through, about to free-fall over fifty feet to her death.

?

A few people, including Freya herself, jumped to their feet. They saw what Zidane was trying to do, and they understood - unstick Beatrix... But the problem was, he was doing it in a way where she would fall, and they weren't entirely sure he knew that.

With that last kick, the Bermecian was sure that the Genome was going to kill the knight, and so she had to ready herself to summon a dragon... Either that or make a horrific sprint she wasn't sure she could finish in time.

"What is he doing?" She heard Dagger ask Cid in a panic, and she could tell Vivi came to stand right next to her, wondering the same thing.

"Beatrix isn't going to die, is she?" Vivi asked in a quiet and scared voice.

Freya shook her head, a very determined manner in her voice... Somewhere in the back of her intelligent mind, just staring at how alert the blonde was - more than anyone else in the group most likely, she knew she could trust Zidane.

?

As the woman began to fall, Zidane took a sky-diving position, and dove, to reach her faster. At the last moment, he hooked his tale to the more narrow, but sturdy part of the log, and threw out his hands, reaching hers just in time.

There were a few people below who screamed at that display, and some were unsure if Zidane's tail could hold the both of them without being ripped off.

He began to swing left and right, staring in to the brunette's frightened eyes, as to tell her silently not to worry. When he got enough force, he threw her onto the log, and knowing just what he would do, she latched her legs around it, and got a good grip with her arms. She now hung like a koala bear around the log, as Ruby stood to help her.

Zidane then swung around and easily landed back on the log, instructing everyone where to move around the smashed area.

They soon found the real why the wood began to get unstable in the middle, was because it broke into a fork. One narrow path (just like the beginning) to the left, and one to the right. Every other person took each way. Beatrix started with the right, and Ruby went to the left. Zidane followed to Beatrix's right, and so on and so fourth.

What seemed like a complicated and hard journey didn't turn out to be that way, because only a few minutes later, they had found solid ground, and a small town. Excitement flooded the small group's mind, as they moved forward, ready to see what this place about.

A small man, his beard long and grey, in green pants, and an odd red shirt waved to them, his stubby fingers wiggling slightly.

"Rally-ho!"

"Rally what?" Zidane tilted his head.

"Rally-ho!" Another mini person waved, walking by, and wearing the same type of clothing.

"Rally-ho?" Ruby questioned, turning and having her blue hair fall slightly in front of her eyes.

The man moved aside, and she entered, but when Zidane tried to follow, he stopped him, and moved back to his position blocking to door.

"Rally-ho!" He repeated, smirking up at the confused Genome.

"Whelly-Woah?" Marcus scratched his head, moving forward to question the man once more, but instead of speaking, he moved to the side, and the Tantalus member entered. This time, Beatrix tried to move forward, but the man once again stood in her way.

"Rally-ho! Or ye cannae get into tae city of tae dwaves! Rally-ho!"

"Rally-ho!" Quina cheered, waddling in, squishing the man slightly to the archway, causing him to grunt and mumble a rally-ho back.

"Rally-ho!" a few people followed the lead, and others weren't so sure.

There were a few different pronunciations of it, but everyone ended up getting in. "Rally-ho!" A few other dwarf creatures waved and called - the group of resistance members glanced at each other in slight confusion, but moved into the city.

"There must be an inn here somewhere," Beatrix said to everyone, "They're going to have plenty of business - at least there are a lot of buildings - just offer the money that you can, but remember you're going to have to get supplies too, so don't blow it all."

Everyone let her words absorb into their heads as they went their separate ways.

Zidane went wondering straight through town, wondering if there was a way past it, so that they could make a resistance somewhere - these people were too weird and simple - they would have to move on soon enough. As he came to what looked like the edge of the city, he saw land that looked far more fabulous than the land they had seen previous of entering the city.

He decided he would come back to town in a while, perhaps maybe after more people had come, so he had someone to explore with, and ask of their entrance to the city, but a guard stopped him.

"Ye cannae go forward!"

"Why not?" Zidane asked, scratching his head.

"It's forbidden! Ye have tae have a ceremony! It's the sanctuary!"

"Ceremony?"

"Marriage!" The dwarf laughed merrily, causing the blonde to moan. "Tis the honeymooning place!"

"Wonderful..." He murmured, slightly - actually largely - irritated. "What's this town called anyways? Where are we? Like, can I buy a map?"

"Rally-ho!" The dwarf called and pointed to a vendor behind a counter, "Maps are over there! We dwell in the city of the dwaves!"

Zidane rolled his eyes and turned, "That helped oh-so-much..." He purchased a map from the vendor, and opened it up. Glancing around on it, he saw where they were - the long line representing the root that he just traveled up. "Conde Petie..."

He looked up to come face to face with a girl. Her hair was a bright purple, and her eyes were a sparkling turquoise color. There was a tiny horn coming from the middle of her head, just above her hairline, and she dressed in brightly colored clothing, with a big yellow bow on her head.

"Move it!" She yelled, snatching his map, and a few others from the shelf, along with some other stuff. A peculiar moogle traveled with her, floating and snatching things as well. "Let's hit it!" She called to the moogle, as the scampered off.

"Thief!" The locals all yelled, with about five of them running behind the pair. "Thief!" They repeated, "Get her!" They roared.

It was a comical event, but Zidane didn't think about humor - he wanted to know what just happened. "Hey! What happened?"

"Damn thief!" One dwarf grumbled, turning around.

"I catch her next time! Fer sure!"

"Does someone live out there?"

"Course not! It's forbidden!" It was the same guy who laughed at him about the ceremony earlier, but he didn't seem quite as thrilled anymore.

Zidane shook his head, wondering about the strange girl. She didn't talk like the people here, and she was dressed and simply _looked_ different. There was no beaten up clothing upon her, and her hair - well she had hair at least - brightly colored and noticeable, and she didn't carry the definite accent, thick with years of no proper teachings.

Shaking her from his mind, since he probably wouldn't see her again, he bought yet another map, and moved away, trying to look at where their options were.

The map was helpful, as it showed the whole world. Carefully looking about it, he saw where they were - Dali... A small dot on the map, probably not even there anymore... He saw Alexandria as well, the castle white and beautiful (for being on a map anyways), unlike its real dreary color and atmosphere alike now. He wondered if these people were aware of Kuja's existence - evil ruler of the world - or if he even knew of theirs.

He looked around, trying to spot somewhere they could make camp that wasn't by this city... Where their secret would be safe, and they could get supplies. Though in the northeast part of the world, there weren't many options. Well no wonder no one wanted to inhabit the place - it was dry and hot.

He saw a scribbled in mess of a forest with a village that he couldn't quite make out, and he saw Conde Petie... That about summed it up. Biting his lip he looked around.

With no supplies, and fewer people, things were going to be tough...

And they were running out of options.

?

**A/N: So I know this chapter was kind of uneventful - well actually we got Zidane to say he likes Dagger - to a certain extent. Whether he was kind of joking with her or not :D Well I hope you enjoyed anyways.**

**Please review!**

**-zesty-**


	27. Chapter 26: Where Are You When I Need

**Filling In The Blanks**

**A/N: Well, I leave tomorrow... Yay :D I'll be back in a week lol. :D lol this was waaaaay back in June :D funny stuff!**

**Warning: This chapter has a very OOC Beatrix**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 26: Where Are You When I Need You?**

All of the resistance members had made it into the city safely. Of course with a little 'rally-ho' issue, but other than that - everyone was safe and sound. Even though it was a little crowded, everyone in the city was happy to have a visitor or two - or four - welcomed into their house for a while.

It had been three days since Beatrix had led her small group into the city seemingly on stilts. Everyone was trying to gather supplies and gain their rest, and try and see who else was missing - people who no one seemed to care about.

Unfortunately, Vivi had just been informed not too long ago, that his mentor - who had helped him master his still-shaky skills in black magic, Nadina was dead. It was an extremely saddening thing, considering she was the leader whenever Tantalus and the main group were away.

It seemed unfortunate also that one of the Nero brothers had been killed as well. His body was slaughtered to pieces, being known as one of the fake actors in the Tantalus crew that wreaked so much havoc. Zenero was sitting on the bridge in the middle of the town, staring into the sky, tears still falling out of his eyes, sparkling just before they set into the stone, hungrily soaking it up, hot with the constant heat.

Not a lot of people were sure just how they were figuring this out, but the moogles were still free to travel, though their letters were checked every time they met even the smallest of villages. People simply gave each other code names - Cid was a very common one... His was Regy. It sounded peculiar, but also just weird enough where the guards had never heard it before... And if they hadn't heard it - it wasn't anyone important. If someone wanted to write to a member of the resistance, they would write it to Regy, and put their real name on the inside of the letter, Cid having enough trusting courtesy of not reading them.

The letters of all of those who were killed were addressed to Cid, and he would have to take it upon himself to tell the people closest to them. He had just told Vivi, and tried to comfort him as much as he could, but there wasn't much he could do... There wasn't much he could do for anyone who had lost someone in that terrible masacre.

The only thing he could do, about the latest batch of letters he had found, was pray that not everyone in the resistance would be broken by the death of someone they loved.

?

Beatrix sat at a table, sipping whatever she was drinking quite slowly. She wasn't interested in knowing exactly what was leaking into her system, but it didn't matter to her. She was positively numb. Yes, she was still waiting for the letter to confirm it - but she realized that it wasn't out of the picture that Steiner could be dead.

She closed her eyes, wishing not to think about it. Not understanding why, and dwelling on it, would only make her distracted, and she couldn't continue to fufill her duty. She needed to keep Dagger safe - now more than ever. Glancing around at the others in what seemed to be a bar, she realized though that the young girl probably had enough people around her.

Freya slid into the seat next to her and ordered a drink. She knew more than the woman what she was drinking and hastily took a sip.

"Any idea what this is?" Beatrix questioned, sending her a sidways glance.

"I forget - so many drinks over the years... It causes you to get drunk quite quickly though..." After hearing these words the two of them took drinks.

"Drinking on the job... We are so professional."

"We've reasons..."

Beatrix glanced at the Bermecian who was gripping the edge of the counter top with quite a lot of tension. With chestnut hair falling in front of her shoulders, she leaned forward, suddenly concerned for her teammate.

The lighting, though dim, was enough to tell that Freya's expression was out of the ordinary. Sure, the silver haired woman always looked cold and guarded, but this was a little different than that. Beatrix noticed her eyes were tired and worried - as though something had been troubling her for a long while, and she was close to breaking about it, if it hadn't already happened...

Chatter filled the bar, but to them things were silent. They were both missing people they cared dearly about, even if either knew the same thing with the other. They were both suffering, and both wishing they things could go back to the way they were not too long ago. Both of them though, were level headed enough not to blame Zidane or Blank... It was unfortunate though that things had to happen like that.

Freya was hurting, and though the knight yearned to know why, she understood that the last thing she should do is push.

It turned out, she didn't have to, "Fratley is still back there... Dead or alive I do not know... And it bothers me... It more than bothers me - it breaks my heart that we left people behind, who did not even have knowledge of the siege on our headquarters."

The almond eyed woman was silent for a moment, before she glanced again at the Bermecian. A lot of anger and rage was mixed into the saddened, beaten up soldier that sat beside her.

The dusty city was not as satisfying to them as they thought it would be. The safety, Kuja not being there at all, and the fact that they didn't have to hide day and night, them being in a city with people who had no idea who the evil man was... It was a wondrous place that could mean a lot of potential for their team... It could mean happiness for the time being, and it could be a fresh start towards their quest. They had means of air travel, they could travel by foot - they could do anything they wanted! It was so simple, and yet they yearned for the struggle in a place so far away.

Freya closed her eyes as she felt the slight buzz set into her system. It didn't relax her at all. She quickly ordered two more drinks, and slid one over to Beatrix, "Drink up my friend, for I see a long night ahead of us..."

The knight didn't know if she meant simply the eight hours they should have been sleeping, or the very long time they were stranded in this sandy world of rally-ho's. What she did know though, is that she was going to drink the night away and have one hell of a sleep... Then she could wait it out at least for a little while.

She chuckled to herself, though the Bermecian did not turn to her, in their now well-developed silence, thinking of the ironic events that had pasted...

?

_The twenty-five year old knight shook her head, her long locks of hair quavering slightly. "You are so idiotic."_

_"You've got to lighten up, Beatrix..."_

_"I'm not about to go off and do something rash and ridiculous like that!"_

_"Tell me, Beautiful, have you ever touched your tongue to perfection?" He licked his lips and tilted his head slightly, a sly smile creeping onto his lips._

_Though her face began to burn red, her brow creased with a slight irritation that could quickly turn to anger. In his state, he couldn't tell to back off._

_"You're drunk, Steiner... It's as simple as that. That's not our duty - we're supposed to be -"_

_"We've got others to do that for us for a while! We needed a break, Cid even said so! Therefore this is what I've chosen we should be doing! Having a good time! But you, being such a stick in the mud won't even try a sip. How have you lived twenty-five years without the touch of liquor to your tongue, Beatrix?"_

_"Me?" She almost shrieked, but then lowered her voice again, "A stick in the mud?" She scoffed, "I believe you are speaking of yourself... Besides... Not a drop of liquor is probably how I climbed the ranks _faster_ than you did... To a _higher_ position with the Queen than you _ever_ did, and would _ever_ do!" She hissed, hitting below the belt._

_He stopped his grinning for a moment and sat up straight, looking at her with a very serious expression. "Is that why you think so? Maybe it's because I haven't wasted my life away -"_

_"Do not feed me lies!" She sneered, and turned away slightly, her toffee eyes glancing around the darkened room. "You wasted _more_ of your years in a service that lead to failure than I certainly have... This is not ours to take..."_

_"It helps take the pressure off of everything..." He put a hand on her shoulder, and she glanced down, just about to ask what he was doing. But before she could open her mouth, he made a swift movement and pulled her close to him, his hot breath on her face, only inches away. "It helps let the emotions escape..."_

_She blinked, wondering exactly what he meant, but again before she could ask him, his lips were pressed to hers in just a quick second. The world began to melt beneath her feet, and Beatrix felt herself, though perplexed, enjoying the contact with the man only a few years older than she. But before she let herself go too far, the both of them pulled back._

_Steiner quickly took another drink of the liquid in the mug, as though trying to mask what had just happened. Beatrix's eyes were wide, and she knew the red etched into Steiner's cheeks mirrored her own. Whipping around, she let her hair touch him briefly, allowing him her scent before she almost ran out of the room. After shutting the door she pressed against it, and began to breathe heavily._

_What had that just meant? Surpressed feelings began to bubble towards the surface, and she almost wished she could open the door and do it all over again, but she shook her head._

_"He's drunk..." She reminded herself in a mutter, and composing herself, walked away, telling herself to forget about the possibilities..._

_?_

That was her first time ever tasting the bitterness of alcohol... Tasting it through Steiner though, she had fallen in love with it - she just couldn't do it very often... She couldn't remind the captain what had gone on between them - he would have had a fit. He didn't remember in the morning, puking his guts out by the pumpkin patch when she went out to get fresh water.

Now here she was, hoping she could drink away what she was feeling, hoping that he was not right when he said it would let emotions come out, in fear she would break down in front of everyone.

At the moment she ordered her fourth drink, the silence still continuing between the two as a variety of citizens entered and left the bar, Regent Cid burst through the doors, a look of pure sadness haunting his features...

Beatrix stood right away, Freya only glanced in that direction, too fearful to get up and hear the news. Beatrix waited anxiously for the inevitable, praying it was not her who's heart would be broken.

"Beatrix..." He murmured, "Perhaps we could go somewhere more private to talk?"

She nodded and followed him, staring hard at the swimming ground to make herself seem more sober than she actually was. When they were outside, the sandy air filled her lungs, though it felt good not having the heat shine down on her, as it did when she entered the bar earlier that day.

He closed his eyes, "I'm sorry, Beatrix."

"What's happened?" She asked, the tone in his voice making her mind a little sharper.

"Steiner..." He trailed. This was emotional for him also. Of course he loved and cherished every single being in the resistance, thankful for anyone who would fight for the cause so many people were too frightened to stand up for, but this was different... He had known this man for such a long time. "He's dead..."

Beatrix stood dumbfounded, her brain not quite taking in the information. "What do you mean...?" She questioned, tilting her head, eyes scanning the man's tired and wrinkled face. The moons illumination caused his skin to glow a little, as though when he walked, the very sadness of her world glowed around him, since he was the one who brought the news.

His eyes were set downcast, picking out the sand and dirt that serviced as the sidewalk through the narrow town. He twiddled his thumbs in front of him - a habit he had picked up a very long time ago. This was just as it was when Beatrix had told him that Hilda was no where to be found before they had to go into complete hiding, and could no longer search for her.

Except this time, it was Cid telling the still youthful knight that the man she was so obviously in love with would never know of her affection, as she would never know of his. It was painful, wrenching his heart as her eyes filled with tears he was certain she would refuse to let fall.

"I don't understand..." She repeated words one more, as though to force him to talk - to tell her something believable.

"Steiner is gone, he's dead... He was killed at the attack."

She shook her head, almost cutting him off, "That's impossible! Steiner was a wonderful knight... He had so much to live for, he couldn't have just let himself die!"

They both noticed she already used his name with past tense. She turned away, wishing that there was somewhere to go that she wouldn't run into anyone she knew so she could just be alone. That was the problem with this place - it was even more packed and crowded than was their pathetic hole they lived in for over five years.

She took in a breath as he gave her his signature look. He was sincerely sorry, but he did not want her to drag this out, and make it more miserable than it had to be. She closed her eyes, and forced her voice to stay strong. "Okay..." She nodded and stood straight, "Okay..."

He put his hands on her shoulders and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them, "Beatrix... if you must, you may go..." He motioned his head towards the bar again, "I am truly sorry though..." He swept her into a hug and held her there for a moment, before pulling back and moving on. She was certain he had other people who needed to be told about the death of Steiner and others.

?

She walked in a completely straight path. She was surprised in her ability to walk along the road when the rest of the world seemed to melt together, covered in fuzz, and on top of that swirl _all_ over the place.

She didn't know why in the world she kept running into stuff if her path was completely straight, and it was starting to frustrate her. Again she ran into something, this time, lashing out and unsheathing her sword. She hit it against the object in front of her, only to hear a clink - but otherwise no damage done.

Staring at the large object in front of her, until it minimized its swimming, she realized it was the wall. Embarrassed, she put her sword away, and began walking along it, using her gloved hand to stabilize herself.

Blinking hard, she felt moisture on her face, and wiped her hand at it. She could smell the salt lingering from what seemed like water, in streaks on her pale cheeks.

To every normal person, she was a drunken knight, tears leaking down her cheeks, once like water falls, now like rivers. But to herself, she was lost in a world that didn't make sense at the time being, just trying to find her way to a bed.

Her hand hit an indent, and what she believed to be a door. When she felt around, it didn't seem like there was a handle, so she pushed it open, and climbed inside. Tumbling to the floor, she thought how odd it was that she would fall into a shelf - who would put a shelf in front of their front door!

"Beatix?" A light, beautiful voice rung in the air almost like magic it seemed. She smiled and looked up. "Beatrix, where did you come from?

The owner of the soprano voice walked over to the window and put her hand to it, shutting it firmly.

"Garnet til Alexandros 17th!" She clumsily stood, and dipped low into a bow, her hair brushing the floor.

"Beatrix, hush... What's gotten into you?" She questioned, helping the older woman up off the ground.

"I remember a time where that would be your name for life. Instead of the ridiculous alias we give you now..." She sighed, as a new set of tears began to form in her eyes. "Why does it have to be like this, Garnet?"

"What are you talking about?"

"This disgusting war. The death, the unwanted fear that develops after you've been hiding for so long! The sickness you feel when you find out your best friend and the man you're in love with is dead!"

Dagger gasped, her hands covering her face as her eyes blinked back already forming tears. She hadn't heard yet - Cid hadn't quite made his rounds to her - he was going to wait until morning rolled around. She took a step backwards, her knees suddenly shaky as she slammed a hand against the wall to hold herself up. Her eyes moved all over the form of the sobbing Beatrix on the ground, and her fingers curled along the rickety doorframe.

"Steiner... Is d-dead?" She gasped again, as though she were just as surprised when she said it herself.

"Dagger..." The voice was low, and quite calm for the time being. She whipped around to see the redhead leaning against the opposite wall of the door, arms and ankles crossed, head tilted down slightly, "She's drunk."

"She's drunk? But..."

"I'm sure Cid gave her the okay..." He suddenly pushed off the wall and pulled her into the wall, "He told her a few hours ago that Steiner was dead..."

Dagger shook her head, understanding that she was drunk, but not the way she was acting. People who had alcohol in their system didn't act quite this hysterical.

"She must have had a lot... mixed with her being so upset, I'd say that that's what's making her so dramatic here... I'll get her home -"

"Can she stay here?" Dagger glanced down the hall where the couple - the two who owned the home originally - looked worriedly down the hall, hoping everything was alright, "If I settle her down?"

"Sure..." He nodded. "I'll go grab her something to eat so she falls asleep easier... It'll soak up some of the liquor in her system - it had to be some pretty heavy stuff..."

"Okay..." She nodded.

As he turned to walk away, she reached out a hand, lurging forward with a sudden urge to ask him, "Hey, Blank!"

"Yeah?" He asked, completely nonchalant.

"So... If you guys just got back, does that mean Zidane is here too?"

The Tantalus crew decided to try and scope out what was going on in the area around the city. They easily made their way back down the giant roots, now familiar with how to move about. Running and joking and flipping and sliding all the way down - the only group brave enough... and also stupid enough... to attempt it.

They'd been gone basically ever since everyone ventured into the city... Dagger had had no further time to talk with Zidane, and that's what made her nervous. She wondered back to her previous conversation with him, and really was hoping to get an explanation about what he meant, though in the back of her mind she knew she wouldn't get one.

Blank simply chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest again and nodding slowly, "Yeah he's home now... About four houses down from here actually," he smirked, "he was hoping to talk to you actually sometime soon... but maybe it would be best if you waited until tomorrow morning."

She nodded, and turned back to Beatrix, who was simply staring at the wall from the floor, small sobs still escaping her throat, though with the lack of attention on her, she had suppressed her giant scene.

Dagger heard Blank's footsteps and muttered words to the couple down the hall, as she sat down by Beatrix and took her hands. The knight needed her more now than ever, though the raven haired girl was upset as well. The knight wrapped her up in a hug, sobbing now into her shoulder. Dagger stroked her hair, and tried to tell her everything would be better in the morning.

The knight agreed, and when Blank returned with food, she ate it quickly, and laid on the bed, falling asleep with no problem. The bandit gave up his bed for the night to give it to Dagger, offering to go down to the place where Zidane was staying, sneak in unnoticed, and stay there for the night. The girl worked at getting Beatrix's main armor off so she wasn't so uncomfortable, and after some advice from the redhead, readily tied back her beautiful chestnut hair.

After a long night, she was tired and decided she needed sleep too - all the drama going on keeping her from thinking about her knight's death.

Squeezing her eyes shut harder, she fell into a rather unrestful sleep, wondering if everything really would turn out okay.

?

**A/N: So I know that chapter was pretty Beatrix centric, but I figured you guys wouldn't mind :) Finally got her to admit that she liked Steiner though? I know that that seemed very OOC, and I know that most people don't act like that when they're drunk... Lol it adds drama, and I think if you lost the man that you loved and you didn't even tell him, who was also conveniantly your best friend, you'd act a little not like yourself either.**

**Other than that, I really hope you enjoyed!**

**-zesty-**


	28. Chapter 27: Eyes That Can't See

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters**

**A/N: The chapter everyone has been waiting for :) hint, hint… nudge, nudge!**

**Chapter 27: Eyes That Can't See**

Zidane sat at the edge of the city, wondering about what was beyond the guards who wouldn't let him pass.

"Say…" He turned to the guard, who stood ever still at his post, readily taking on his position in a very serious manner, "How come it's forbidden out there?"

"Tis the sanctuary! Only fer the joined! They who ain't joined here ain't gettin' through!"

_Joined? Does he mean like… married?_

A thought dawned upon Zidane that made him grin, but it slowly faded. He hadn't seen Dagger in a few days – he wondered slightly how she had reacted to his confession. Maybe she didn't see anything at all… He chuckled – that was probably the case.

Walking back down the path, he glanced at the bridge with a kind of alter looking thing up there, an old man sitting in a chair asleep. He moved stealthily towards the top of the bridge, bending down and reading.

129 joined…

That was odd... there were really that many people married… Where? On that bridge?

"Can I help you young man?" The man's accent was nothing like Zidane had quite ever heard… It sounded slightly familiar and yet he couldn't place a finger on it – he ignored it of course, and turned to face him fully.

"Do people get married on this bridge?" He questioned, trying not to sound as though he were interested in acting upon that question.

"Yes… This is the joining place of the people of Conde Petie…" He nodded, "the joinings have slowed though… considering what's going on with the rest of the world."

Zidane nodded, thanking his lucky stars that someone in this town knew what was going on, "So… is this the only way to get back into the Sanctuary place?"

The priest-man nodded. "Then… why is there a little girl running around back there?" He jerked back, surprised Zidane knew about such a girl.

"How did you know about her?"

"She stole a map I just recently bought right from my hands…" He chuckled and cupped his chin, "Almost more skillful at that than I am…" The priest gave him a look and he cleared his throat. "Anyways… Would there be a way for my friends and I to go back there –"

"It's sacred to the lovers who come here to cherish their bond!" He almost yelled, causing Zidane to fall back in surprise.

"Whoa, calm down…" He put his hands up in defense, "Sorry…" He mumbled, standing and walking away, "What a crazy guy!"

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he walked on, his mind set still on the whole marriage deal. _Who would ever want to get married in a place like this?_ Then again, there weren't a lot of happy places left in the world. A marriage could go recorded by Kuja, and ultimately used against you in the future. Sighing, he allowed his eyes to be set downcast for a moment, thinking about the country they had left behind.

"Zidane…" The soprano voice caused him to stop, paralyzed in shock, and look up without hesitation.

The girl, her raven hair blowing in the small breeze, chocolate eyes sparkling with confidence, stood in front of him, and seemed determined to set something straight.

"Princess…" He mock bowed, as she sighed and turned to look over the town. "Sorry… too soon for jokes?"

"I appreciate you trying to make the mood light, but it wasn't an easy thing to do… 'Dagger' has been my alibi almost since I could remember. I'm more a failing fighter than a princess, and I think I always will be."

"We'll don't say that…" She turned her head, hair hitting her slightly in the face as she watched him, eyes wide in surprise. "Come walk with me…" He smiled, as she turned completely, deciding she would take him up on his offer.

"Dagger… No matter who you've become, you'll always have the heritage… No matter what you want to believe."

"What do you mean?" She questioned, listening faintly to the sounds of the content village on the stupid roots that were awful to try and climb up – she wondered how all of these dwarf people could do it!

"You've grown as a resistance leader… but you'll always be remembered, no matter what happens to you, as a beacon of hope. Like you said before – many people still believe Princess Garnet to be their light at the end of the tunnel… Now you're simply here in the flesh to confirm that for them."

"But how can I be something that I've never thought I'd have the chance to be?" She questioned, looking at him, topaz to sapphire. He chuckled, and broke the eye contact.

"You're a resistance leader… You lead a group of people, and make the decisions best for them. You have people who care for you, but also look up to you for guidance. You are known to everyone, and respected, and you have someone who helps advice you in your decisions… Think about it Dagger, it's as though you've _been_ a rular all your life…"

When he spoke to her like that, she thought about the similarities. She stretched back to when she was small – any sort of detail from when she lived as Princess Garnet in Alexandria... she could only remember pitiful things her mother had done for people in the castle, not even the country, so that couldn't help her at all.

Though his words made sense, and she let on a smile, her lips twitching upward, and a delighted relief flushing through her body.

"Thank you, Zidane…" She smiled at him lovingly, and he grinned, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"So… Now that the formalities are over," She laughed at this, "How are you liking the city?"

She shrugged, and looked down, remembering Beatrix from the previous night.

"Hey… What's wrong?"

"It's just…" She sighed, "I would like it here. The people seem… interesting, and they're very helpful and kind for letting us stay with them… And they definitely entertain us enough –"

"But…" Zidane allowed her to get to a part that wasn't trying to be optimistic.

She closed her eyes, in an attempt not to cry over the current event, "We just got news that Steiner was killed…"

The blonde nodded all knowingly, "Yeah… Blank told me last night…" It still shocked him to hear it, and he just _couldn't_ believe that after all this time, it was Steiner – brave, strong, never-give-up, Steiner who would die before the rest of him. Even if the two of them didn't necessarily get along, it still stung to think about.

Dagger shook her head, "I don't really want to think about it though… The whole thing with Beatrix last night, and with hearing about his death…"

"I get what you mean…" He forced a goofy grin, "Then let's go have some fun!"

"Fun?" She cocked her head to the side, curiosity sparking in her expression.

"Yeah!" He laughed, "Let's see what this town's made of! I'll buy you some food, and we can go find away to entertain ourselves without any of the other resistance members tagging along!"

She laughed, "Is this a date Mister Tribal?" The girl teased, snickering at the thought of his embarrassed reaction.

But this only made him genuinely smile, "Sure, Miss Alexandros, I suppose if you think it is – then it can be…" He turned it around, causing her to pout, and he laughed, grabbing her hand.

A date? So right there confirmed what he said before he made his way up to Conde Petie. Who would think of going on a date in a sorrowful time like this? She almost felt _bad_ about it… But then, at the same time, the raven haired girl thought maybe she deserved a break too…

?

Laughter floated in the air as the golden rays hit everything in its path, casting long, narrow shadows behind it. The movement of the small city had mostly worn out, as the day came to a close, stars already attempting to light the fiery sky before the sunset was over. They twinkled, making the atmosphere seem beautiful, when it was mostly boring and dusty all the time.

The water that ran through the city also held a shimmering hue, sparkling as the gold and azure colors swirled together, and gently tapped the sides of the containment, leaving the essence of a relaxing sound in the air.

"Then Marcus kicked him in the ass and blamed it on Ruby… Her reaction when he turned around was _priceless!"_

"I would have _loved_ to be there for something like that! Absolutely adored it!" She laughed once more, her eyes squinting, looking all the more adorable.

Zidane let out a chuckle, and lead her to the place the guards resided, just before grass that seemed to mock them – out of their reach, and yet so rich looking and beautiful, swaying in the warm wind, the only color truly in their world.

"Oh this is beautiful…" She smiled, "Even though I've been down here, I guess I didn't notice what was beyond this point…" She sighed, "I wish we didn't have to stay here. I miss the grass…"

He smiled, leaning against the wooden stand where he had previously bought a map from the area. "Yeah, I know…" His thoughts flashed back to the bridge, but the sapphire eyed thief shook his head – he couldn't propose that idea to her.

"I would take any means necessary to get out there, and just to lie in that grass and watch the stars merge with the sky… Like right now…"

"Well…" He rolled his eyes at the silliness of his thoughts, "There are two ways to get out there…"

"What are they?" She demanded, though not in a harsh way.

He scratched his cheek, looking almost embarrassed to answer, though she knew that wasn't the case at all, "Well…" The blonde wanted to keep her in suspense, and it was working.

No longer content with rocking back and forth, she grabbed both of his hands and placed them a little lower than their heads, their bodies close to being pushed together, "Well what? Tell me, Zidane!"

"Either we get married…" He chuckled, watching her confused expression, "Over on that bridge – they say that the place with the grass is sanctuary to the people who live here – the ones who join themselves together in Conde Petie…"

She snorted, not wanting to take that way at all. "Or, we sneak…"

"Sneak?" She parroted.

"Yes, that's what I just said…" He winked, and pulled her away from the beauty, and into the town.

With no one looking, he picked her up bridal style, making her yelp. After double checking that the coast was clear, he hopped onto the rooftop, and began to run swiftly as he could – hoping no one spotted them.

At that last building, he made a grand leap, and heard one guard yell to stop, but he couldn't stop – he was mid air. Laughing, she saw the green come closer and closer, and began feeling excited.

As he dropped into the grass, he let her down on her own feet and snatched her hand, tugging her along, gesturing her to run from the guards who were bound to chase them a little ways down the path.

Their feet were light in the dusty road. Dagger watched purple flowers dotting the grass shoot by, her breath barely leaving her – nothing could ruin this moment. They continued to run until they heard the trickle of a river, and she squealed, pulling away from the Genome and running towards the water.

He ran after her, a smile dancing upon his own lips, as he crept close behind her, and suddenly called out, pushing her forward. She screamed, losing her balance and falling into the river. Her close were sopping wet, and she huffed in irritation – though she _loved_ the feel of the water on her.

He watched her face catch the wondrous, pastel colors of the sunset, the droplets on her face almost like liquid crystals, slowly rolling, and caught in her hair like dew on a spider web. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen… She stood, her eyes sparkling with a happiness he hadn't seen in her since that very night they spent on their patrol in the moonlight.

Her clothes clung close to her body, outlining her in a way that made Zidane take a second glance at her. Not only was Dagger beautiful, that he had noticed since the very first time he laid eyes on her, but she was _sexy_. Her body had all the right curves, and was petite, and she was flexible and nimble…

He shook his head, clearing his mind of his thoughts. She laughed at his dumbfounded face, it like a melody he never wanted to stop hearing, as she walked forward towards him. Her eyes narrowed slightly, as she smirked lightly, one side of her lips moving upwards more than the others. Her eyelashes now looked longer and more volumized, giving her eyes _just_ the right shape.

Her hips moved with her hair, though it was plastered to her face, it was still beautiful – short as it was now. She was a gorgeous creature, and it pained his heart to know all the hurt she'd been through.

She closed the distance between the two of them, and suddenly grabbed his shirt, standing on her tip toes, her face only inches away from his. Her breath was hot on his neck, and he almost felt sweat forming on his brow, a certain shock overtaking him, causing him to lose his cool.

Suddenly, she hurdled him into the water, a great splash causing water to splash onto the bank, and even to hit her. His head whipped up from the water as he spewed the aqua from his mouth, eyes shimmering with playfulness.

"That was cheap! Cheap Dagger!" He was truly impressed to say the least.

She watched his eyes, playful and young, as though there wasn't a care in the world. He shed his now wet gloves and bracers, and pulled his shirt over his wet head. Water droplets moved down his nicely toned abdomen, and had Dagger slightly mesmorized on the spot.

His hair framed his gorgeous face, as his heads moved to pull himself further out of the water. She watched as his muscles flexed, and realized she could stare at the blonde forever…Before she had anymore thought on it, he again pulled her into the water, and a splashing game began.

The moment for watching each other differently than they ever had before had passed, and now they were just back to having a good time. The water fight consisted on tugging and shoving, in an attempt to get the other more wet than they already were. Dagger pointed out after a while this was impossible, since they both were already soaking wet, but Zidane answered with another wave of water towards her, ending all needless conversation.

Not too long later, after most of the color was washed out of the sky, the two lay in the grass, more content than they had been in such a long time. Water still hung about them, but they didn't care, they simply watched the stars dot the sky in random shapes and patterns.

Crickets were chirping, and the water still moved with an ever-so-slight current that gently nudged the melodic sound of nature into their ears once more. It reminded both of them of Alexandria – the one that though war waged on the borders of all countries, was a home to them – more in a hole in the ground, than in an illusion or a grand castle any day.

In truth, ever since they had lain in the grass, both of their hands, Zidane's right, and Dagger's left, got subconsciously closer together, and now, as cheesy as both of them thought it was, their hands touched, sending tingles and sparks all over their body. It was a type of pleasure neither of them would ever feel again – a connection they were sure they couldn't have with another.

Dagger glanced at Zidane who was already looking at her, his face serene, but his eyes more serious than they had been in forever.

"Zidane –" she tried to speak, but he pulled a finger to his lips, and she closed her mouth, waiting for whatever he would do or say next.

"Don't talk…" He murmured to her, and rolled, on his hands and knees on top of her. It wasn't a closeness that made her uncomfortable, as their bodies didn't even touch, but he leaned close to her, and without hesitation, pushed his lips onto hers.

The shock she felt almost made her want to turn away, but there was a slight temptation to it that willed her to stay still. The blonde lowered his body more so, until he was closer to her, and as he shifted his body weight, she realized she should close her eyes.

The kiss was a lovely trick. This small gesture, though it could be turned greater, or even more microscopic depending on the will of two people was designed by nature to render words to a silence when they became useless. It was true – Zidane had completely taken the words away from her as soon as his lips connected to hers.

Through the darkness, and though she, at the moment, had eyes that couldn't see, she felt a warmth that didn't come from Zidane being so close. It was just something inside of her that said this was right, and that it felt nice, and comfortable.

She sighed, and smiled shyly into the kiss, as Zidane took to that gesture to deepen it. He slid his tongue across her lips, and she happily greeted him inside her mouth.

He explored it thoroughly, as she did to his, all the while playing a little game with their tongues. The connection it seemed, simply never ended, as he put a hand to her cheek, as her arms snaked around his neck, fisting his hair.

After what seemed like only seconds, the need for breath overcame their desires as they broke apart, Zidane pulling back completely off of the girl. They stared at each other for a long time, a loving spark in each of their eyes, before Zidane glanced up, seeing the moon in the sky.

"Hey…" His voice was light and caring, as he stood, offering a hand to help the girl, "We should probably be getting back, people are probably wondering where we are…"

She nodded in agreement, still too shocked and out of breath to word a reply. But her hand didn't let go of his once she was up, and with a chuckle, he switched her hand and walked side by side of her.

?

Once they were back in, and Zidane bought some stuff in apologies for the two of them going outside the boundaries of Conde Petie, he lead the girl in the direction of the place she was staying and smiled.

They only enjoyed each other's company, keeping the walk silent, in half fear of ruining the beauty of the time shared, and half in fear of waking others up. When she came to her door, she wanted to ask Zidane so many things, but instead she just smiled and blinked her eyes at him.

He chuckled, and kissed her quickly, a tender peck – nothing compared to what she knew he _could_ achieve, given the time and place, and then he was gone – a rogue in the night. Turning, she opened the door again, and stepped inside, feeling her way in the dark, and finding her way to the room.

She supposed she could deal with having to be away from Alexandria… Perhaps maybe she would never see it again…

But if she had something like that in her life, as mystical and beautiful, and simply breath-taking as she had tonight… Then perhaps things wouldn't be so bad…

She could manage with change – sometimes… with the blonde in mind as she closed her eyes… she even liked it.

?

**A/N: Awww! After 28 chapters they FINALLY kiss! I think that was just adorable, sorry if it was cheesy though. I tried to make it passionate more than cheesy, but not sure if it worked.**

**Please review!**

**-zesty-**


	29. Chapter 28: Panic and Pain

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 28: Panic and Pain**

Dagger's eyes almost refused to open. Slowly she turned to her side, blinking slowly in an attempt to shake away the sleep. She saw Beatrix sitting by the window – like she did every morning… After the drinking incident, she hid in the room, watching the world through the hole in the wall – ashamed of her actions, though no one really blamed her at this point in time…

As the girl reflected on Steiner's death, she tried so very hard to be strong. In many cases, it was Beatrix showing the courage to help Dagger, this time, the girl decided she would be the one to do it… Her outing with Zidane yesterday… She knew exactly what Steiner would say about it, and it caused a stabbing pain to rip through her heart.

With a sigh, she rolled off the bed, standing and stretching, before saying a light good morning to the knight. The woman didn't turn, but mumbled something back – she couldn't face Dagger… not yet…

And the young leader never heard what the chestnut haired knight said to her, she was just happy she was at least saying something… Moving into the house, she slipped out, not wanting to interrupt the family's breakfast where they chatted merrily. This early in the morning, she couldn't make out anything besides the rally ho's with their thick accent.

It was tough not having a home anymore… She glanced down at herself. She didn't have a brush, not that she really had a need anymore, and she didn't have any clothes besides the ones she wore – she supposed now she knew what it was like wearing armor when you had to sleep on the battlefield.

Walking into the burning sunlight, she glanced around, seeing a few resistance members moving about. Ruby walked along, sounding almost as depressed as ever, and the girl decided to wait for her to catch up.

"Hi Ruby," Dagger spoke to her in the best tone she could muster.

"Hello Darlin'," Ruby glanced up at her pale face, smiling slightly.

"Is everything okay?" The raven haired girl questioned, wondering why she looked so down.

"I hate it… I hate it that when it comes to plans to get outta this wretched place, there ain't no girls involved in creatin' it."

"What?" This was news to Dagger – definite news.

"Yah, that's right… Them boys are all makin' plans – have been for the past few days I reckon – to get outta here, and somewhere more discreet…"

Dagger glared, "Why didn't they tell us? We're just as important as any man of the resistance…"

"They're in one of these big meetin' houses… I suppose if you wanted to release all fury on a haystack, I reckon you could, honey."

"I think I might just go do that…" She was outraged… The girl marched up to the first guard who yelled rally-ho at her, and mumbled it back. "I have a question for you… And if you don't answer, I'll throw you in the river, and make sure you never come back out…" She scowled.

With as menacing of a face as that one, he shook slightly, "Yes?" He prompted her to finish.

"Where are the people not of Conde Petie gathering?"

He began to sweat, specific instructions from a blonde haired, rugged looking thief _not_ to tell this exact girl sweeping through his mind. Unfortunately for him, the threat outweighed his duty, and he pointed to a house not very far away. Her mood did a complete one-eighty, and a sickly sweet smile graced her lovely lips.

"Thank you…" She moved across the bridge, and shoved the door open, not willing to knock. A group consisting of her uncle, the Tantalus crew, Quina, a few random men she didn't care about, and a very surprising Blank and Zidane as well.

"Dagger!" Cid seemed almost nervous at her ominous stare.

"Plans of getting out of Conde Petie, and you didn't bother to even _tell_ the rest of the resistance?" She demanded answers.

Everyone looked to Blank, knowing quite well under a threat from Ruby, he told her, and she had told the fuming Princess with a depressed sigh – yeah… they had everyone pinned…

"Who told you where we were?" Zidane questioned out of her.

"That's not important," She growled at the blonde, not caring that she had a soft spot for him at the moment, "What the hell?" Everyone was slightly afraid – no one had seen Dagger this angry before, "You have been spewing to me, Cid, that I have just as much right to be –"

"Dagger…" He spoke softly, "We didn't include anyone who had lost someone important…" That shut her up. He gestured to the Tantulus crew, and she realized that the Nero brothers were missing. One was dead, the other was grieving and not invited…

"Do you really believe we would keep you and Beatrix especially in the dark?" Blank questioned, "We were going to involve everyone – but it seemed after Beatrix's incident, it would be for the better if we involved people with a straight head…"

"And Ruby?" She tried to defend her point.

"Ruby's loyalty to the whole crew would have definitely wavered her opinion on things – though she may not be mourning as much as Zenero, she's definitely hurting…" Blank pointed out with a nod.

Dagger bit her lip, now feeling slightly foolish for bursting in like that. She bowed her head, but Cid cleared his throat, trying to clean the unorganized situation. "Well Dagger, now that you're aware, why don't you join us?"

She slowly sat down, not daring to glance into Zidane's eyes for fear of disappointment on his part – or something even worse… Lust, a smirk, anger… She didn't even want to think about it.

"We must all act as though, instead of a rebellion, more close – like a group of friends, or perhaps even families…"

"That's one hell of a big family…" Blank mumbled.

"Let's catch Dagger up to date first, huh?" It was Zidane who suggested this, and she glanced up in surprise, her chocolate eyes shining in shock. He winked at her, without letting anyone see it, causing a rosy color to occupy her cheeks.

"We believe that if perhaps we can get the citizens of Conde Petie to know who I am – if I tell them my true identity… Maybe they would give us pass."

"Pass?" She questioned, tilting her head.

"I'm sure you've seen the grass on the outskirts of the opposite side of the city…" Marcus stated; she replied with a simple nod.

"That is 'sanctuary' to this city – a honeymoon spot for people who get married on that bridge out there…"

She nodded – somehow she couldn't really absorb the information, her night with Zidane the previous day blocking up her judgment. The blonde cleared his throat, in an attempt to get her to focus.

Shaking her head, she answered, "Yes, I know of the marriage process in this city…"

"Perhaps, if we could have two people marry, we could convince the town to allow both 'families' to go through to the honey moon spot…"

"Risky, in my opinion…" Blank voiced.

"He thinks we won't be able to get through – I agree with him… I doubt they'll let us through with anything but force…" Zidane pumped the air with his fist, though no one paid mind to his excited attitude to such a situation.

"We could sneak?" Dagger offered her opinion, noticing thoroughly, how Zidane's head whipped her way – accusing to letting people know what happened between them.

"Allowing even twenty people to sneak past would be devastatingly hard…" Baku reasoned in his gruff voice.

"We could go maybe… ten at a time each night… And maybe start getting a base camp set up somewhere…"

Dagger's leadership to the rebellion showed through again – everyone liked that idea best… They took a vote, and it was almost unanimous.

The meeting was wrapped up pretty well after that with a few more details thrown in by other members. They had decided they were going to start that night. It was settled – they were ready to make another move…

?

Things went actually tons more amazing than they thought, and after only two weeks they had all of their members out. The guards were a lot less cautious than people had expected them to be, they had found after the first three nights – a specific time where there was absolutely _no one_ guarding the edges of the city.

Beatrix had been the only one who didn't want to leave that place. She said that perhaps after the news was given to her – her irresponsible actions had been a sign she should take a whole break from this – she told Dagger, Cid, and Baku that perhaps she was no long suited to be a knight in this war.

It took an extra two days after the fourteen for Dagger to stay with her, talk with her about what happened, and convince her, after so many tears were shed, that she still needed her.

They had ventured a bit further down the road, just so no one quite figured out where they had gone. Though the people of Conde Petie were very kind to them – they knew the higher ups wouldn't be very happy if they found out what the resistance had defied – it seemed like a pretty important tradition to them.

Zidane walked down the dirt road – he was traveling with Blank and Ruby to go get water. It should have been a very peaceful walk – except for the two people he was with.

Although he wanted his quiet time, it was rather amusing to watch Blank and Ruby together. Though their feelings were clear, their relationship hadn't advanced a lot, except for private moments that Zidane had caught behind this tree, or that bush… They actually had normal conversations where they weren't yelling at each other, and he'd even seen Blank holding hands with her when they thought no one else was looking.

It was such an amateur relationship – something cute, rather than passionate – but he figured that fit them… For the beginning of it all, they didn't need passion unless there was tragedy – he only hoped it stayed that way.

"Dammit Blank, yer more stubborn than a –"

"_Not _another metaphor – I can't stand them Ruby!"

"Well I'll be!" She gasped.

The blonde stayed quiet, not wanting to draw attention to himself and have to pick sides. He would never let Blank down, and yet the wrath of Ruby even scared him.

"Don't act like you're surprised Rube, you knew that I hated them – I bet that's why you _say_ them!" She gasped again, punching him square in the arm, causing him to yelp.

He rubbed it, "Dammit, that's my bad arm!"

"Serves you right!" She huffed, crossing her arms and tossing her hair as though it had been practiced; Zidane didn't miss the apologetic look she cast towards the redhead though.

As they moved quickly down a hill, but still at a comfortable pace, all three of them heard a young, though soprano voice.

"Hey! Mog! Don't run away! It's probably just another animal! Mog!" The whining was almost unbearable, but comical all at the same time, "Get back here you dumb butt!"

The trio moved swiftly down the path now, wanting to catch up to the girl. When they saw her, she was hanging by her overall strap on a tree branch. Blank and Zidane snickered immediately.

"What are ya doin' up there, Darlin'?" Ruby wondered allowed, purposely being obvious.

"I'm _stuck_ can't you see that?" The girl snapped – but it was only half hearted; she smiled at them afterwards.

"Do you want help?" He watched the fluffy moogle run away in fear, "Since you're companion deserted you…"

"Mog is such a scaredy cat!" She huffed crossing her arms, but just then the thin branch snapped, and she screamed, knowing she was going to fall into the river type ravine that lay below her.

Zidane jumped into action, and caught the girl, landing safely on the ridge above them. Purple flowers dotted the emerald grass in an almost animated way – and she glanced up at him, eyes star struck.

"Wow!" She gaped like a fish.

He set her down, "Hey…" He glanced at her purple hair, the horn, and odd clothing, "I remember you!"

"What?" She suddenly tried to turn away, in an attempt for him not to recognize her, "Don't be silly, I would remember someone like you…"

"No, no… A few weeks ago in Conde Petie! You stole from that stand!" He crossed his hands, "Where do you live? Why would you steal?"

"Don't ask all the questions!" She stomped her foot, "I've been here, and borrowing from Conde Petie for a _very_ long time – I'm the one who should have questions for you! _You_ just arrived!" She sent him a hard glare, but neither backed down.

Blank was snickering at the pair before Ruby stomped on his foot with her shoe, "Grow up!" She hissed, it not mixing well with her accent.

He hopped around for a few moments, rubbing his foot, as Zidane jumped back down, the purple haired girl following suit.

"What's your name?" The blue haired, young woman questioned kindly.

"Eiko… and that moogle you saw before was Mog… She's really shy!"

The little girl kept glancing at Zidane, "Hey, you know, since you saved me… I owe you…"

"Uhh…" He scratched his head, then crossed his hands behind his head, placing one ankle behind the other, "That's not necessary."

"I _insist_!" It seemed kind of like a command, "I want to have you over for dinner!"

"Dinner?" The three parroted in unison.

"Yeah!" She scoffed, as though she thought they were unintelligent for asking her again, "Don't make me repeat myself… All three of you can go!" She smiled, "And if you have a couple other friends – since it seems like there were quite a lot of you in town – you can bring them! Just not too many, okay?" She smiled lovingly, suddenly excited. "This will be great! Come tonight!"

She skipped around them, "Follow the path up a few miles, you'll come to a desert type place, and then some canyons… Follow the trail in between, and there will be a point you'll hear a river – keep following that, and you'll know where to go! See you later!" She danced away, following her own music.

"That was…" Zidane started, unable to finish.

"Weird…" Blank offered, though not as a question – he was simply finishing what everyone thought.

"Are we gonna go?" Ruby asked, glancing at the two.

"I'm not sure…" Zidane shrugged, "Let's talk to Cid – maybe this would be a good place to go for supplies…"

?

Cid had decided to send a group of people. It would consist of: Marcus, Cinna, Blank, Beatrix, Zidane, Dagger, Vivi, Quina, Ruby, Freya, and a few others – he wanted to see what this girl was all about.

The others would scout to a hidden place – perhaps with water nearer than where they were positioned now, and someone would be waiting for them later that night where they had first camped just to get everyone out of the city.

The group agreed to go, and Baku would be the one coming to pick them up. The two groups split, and the resistance members went on their way.

It didn't take long to hear the water – Dagger had a good ear for such a thing when she wanted to, and Eiko was nearby to greet them. Immediately, even Beatrix had to smile fondly the way Dagger got jealous because the purple haired girl was so interested in Zidane.

It was becoming more and more apparent that she had feelings for him, while he still did a good job at hiding it when he wanted to.

"What is this place?" Dagger questioned, running a gloved hand across the wall in curiosity.

"Madain Sari… At least, that's what everyone used to call it…" Eiko nodded solemnly, and though Dagger wanted to press further, she figured there was a good reason the young girl stopped.

"Do you live here alone?" Zidane asked, concern bubbling in his tone.

"No," She shook her head and smiled brightly, her mood doing a complete one-eighty, "I live here with the moogles!" She giggled, "They just aren't around at the moment…"

The night moved forward in a similar fashion. They explored the place, and all made pretty good friends with Eiko. They had asked her questions wondering why she didn't want to live with anyone else – she had smugly retorted a perfectly wonderful answer… _Moogles, or the rally ho people of Cone Petie… Who would you chose?_

Even Dagger came around, and everyone at least seemed to be laughing some more. Though things had been pretty uneventful from Kuja's side of things, they just now had started loosening up a little, and it was even easier being in Madain Sari.

Eiko vaguely watched one of their team members – the fat one with the blue skin and huge tongue – try to catch a fish in the water. He, or she, or whatever it was, fell into the water and didn't resurface for some time… She shrugged it off after a while… No one asked, so she didn't feel the need to say.

As for the few members of the Tantalus crew (minus Ruby of course – she wouldn't take part in such childish things), they seemed to take a liking to pranking the moogles. They were so weary of humans, that spooking them wasn't all that hard. Some got used to it as time went on, but there were a few who jumped every time, even if the scare was only seconds apart.

As the night began to wind down, Eiko stumbled upon the black mage sitting by himself on the edge of a rock, watching the distance.

"What are you sitting up here by yourself for?" She asked, dropping down next to him.

"Thinking…" He answered simply and shyly.

"Why?" She questioned, causing him to pause.

"Just about the past and the future, and maybe even a little about the present."

"You're kind of too indepth… You just have to live life as it comes!"

"Easy for you to say – you don't know what I've gone through…" He sighed, feeling bad after he just had a backbone for the first time in his life.

"Tell me…" She urged, almost as a challenge.

Instead of answering, he leaned back on his hands, kicking his feet, and watching the stars.

"Have you lost anyone, Eiko?"

"Sure!" She nodded, "At a time like this – I think everyone has…"

"You _know_ about the war?" He seemed baffled.

"There are a few moogles who travel place to place – they spread the news here… This is the second most moogle populated place in all of Gaia!"

He went back to his prior subject, "Do you mind me asking who?"

"My whole tribe actually…" She nodded sadly, "There was an attack on my village five years ago… Everyone died besides a few… Then a plague hit… Not too far away there were waste products from some sort of an experiment Kuja was doing up here – away from the populations he ruled – that hit my people with a bad sickness.

Only my grandfather and myself survived this, but I was too young to know exactly how. He raised me, until sickness too took him when I was five…"

A silence swept over them as they listened to the running water not too far away. In the distance, a yelp was heard from Dagger, accompanied by a symphony of laughs, indicating a prank for the moogles went wrong and scared her instead.

"I'm sorry to hear that…" He offered, and looked away, "If it makes you feel any better… my grandfather raised me too…"

"Oh? Then how did you end up here with these people?"

"Five years ago, I was taken from our dwelling somewhere around Treno –" she nodded in understanding, having studied books that she had stolen and from her grandfather's wisdom of the world, "And then… after that I've never seen him again."

"Where did you go? I mean – you were kidnapped?" She questioned softly.

"Yeah…" He nodded, "I was part of his group of dreamers – I guess that's what they call us – someone powerful he wanted to brainwash… both Zidane and I were part of it… But we both woke up, and escaped… We met up with Blank, Beatrix, and Dagger, and they lead us back to Dali…"

"Wow…" She breathed, "That sounds scary…" He nodded, and another silence wafted over them – this time it was permanent as they sat, enjoying it as newfound friends.

?

"I want to welcome you with us, Eiko…" Beatrix nodded, "I've spoke with Dagger about it, and we believe it would be better if you traveled with us – but only if you'd like to see the world, and help fight for a cause…"

She glanced at her moogles, and a few encouraged her, indicating that so long as she had Mog with her, she would always have a connection to them. She smiled confidently, and turned towards Beatrix, truly believing she could help fight this war.

"I accept your offer Miss Beatrix!" She smiled brightly, skipping over to her moogle friends, "You all be good, okay? I'm putting Oleive in charge…" She shyly stepped out and nodded, as she turned back around. "Well… I'm ready!"

"Let us be going then – Baku will be waiting for us…"

?

As supper began to settle in their stomachs, and the night dwindled on, not a lot of talk was created as they made their way forward. It was difficult to navigate where to go, but that's why Eiko distracted herself by moving forward, leading with Beatrix.

A light shown a little ways in the distance, and they sighed in relief.

Finally, something didn't go wrong… Zidane smirked a little, lifting his hand to wave at Baku, about to spit out some comment that would be well known to push his buttons. But as they got closer, they realized there wasn't just Baku there, but a few others as well…

In fact, Baku wasn't there – only unfamiliar people…

A man in silver armor stood before them, proudly and confidently, a scar hashed across his face, and his expression distorted into wickedness.

"Get them."

?

**A/N: An uneventful chapter left with a cliff hanger! :) At least you finally meet Eiko… Lol I know you were wondering sometime when she would be thrown in there :) I hope you're excited! I'm excited to get back going with the story line – they've been chillin' in Conde Petie for too long!**

**I hope you enjoyed – please review!**

**-zesty-**


	30. Chapter 29: Hunted

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Chapter 29: Hunted**

"_Get them."_

The sentence was so chilling that the members of the resistance were paralyzed on the spot for a few moments. Beatrix's eyes shifted, before suddenly unleashing her sword and thunder element all at once, hoping to hit off the guy running towards a stunned Vivi.

He flew a decent ten feet across the terrain, sliding to a stop, causing a whole lot of dust to shoot into the air.

That seemed to snap everyone out o it.

Blank drew his dagger, and along with Zidane, they tag teamed one of the guys going for Ruby. Blank leap frogged Zidane, his dagger at a ready. He swung out, one knee tucked to his chest, the other leg extended behind him.

He slashed at the man in front of him, getting deathly close to the man's brooding face, before slashing into it, gashing his cheek, knowing he knicked a few teeth. Just as it seemed he was going to fall to the ground, Zidane's tail wrapped around his ankle and yanked him back, letting him flip safely behind him.

The dazed man, confused on Blank's escape, didn't realize the blonde pounced, his feet digging into the ground before his leap, stabbing the man in the neck. As blood spurted out, _fuck_ gurgled out of the man's mouth as he realized what was going on a second too late.

Meanwhile, Beatrix was trying to keep them back, throwing her lightening in every direction. She couldn't protect Steiner – she wasn't going to fail anyone else… Her back stung – the full injury that collapsed one side of her body into itself had healed yes, but unfortunately the mental scarring wasn't gone – every time she fought she remembered it, sending tender nerves in her back into an overload.

She focused in on their leader, hoping to strand his knights without commands, leaping from side to side, throwing multiple spells at him at once. Unfortunately for her, he simply seemed to vanish out of thin air, appearing a few feet over to the side. Her attacks only increased in speed, and at one point, she knew she set his glove ablaze – though it did nothing… His armor was fireproof.

Deciding it was time he made a move, he evaporated, and condensed in front of her, grabbing her by the neck and squeezing. It was just enough time to cause her to black out, but not enough to kill her. With that he threw her to the side, his speed inevitably being her downfall.

Vivi threw magic spell after magic spell in his defense. He couldn't play offense – not with the surprise he had taken of actually being ambushed. A man slid on the ground with a burlap sack, hoping to bag the small mage. Eiko, seeing this, threw a levitation spell his way, and the man went right under him.

The black mage glanced at her in surprise, but she only smiled and winked, before jabbing her staff into a man's stomach as hard as she could. It didn't do a lot of damage, but it gave her enough time to bound away.

Cinna was beating down some guy with his sledge hammer, when suddenly he heard a cold scream. Whipping around, he saw one of the men had backed Ruby into a tree, looking as though he were about to do something less with his sword, and more with his body.

He slid his hand up her leg, pulling her skirt up. Cinna cried out, in an attempt to push past two men to go to her aid, but the two threw him onto his back, and began to beat him down, slashing him against the chest, and even one stabbed him – the blade going between his ribs, puncturing his lung.

Ruby waited for the moment when her skirts came far enough up. She reached down, in no hostile way – one way he could get what he wanted even _easier_. Unfortunately for him, she had a few tricks up her sleeve, as she yanked a dagger out of her stocking, and brought it down across his wrist, going for her chest.

He howled, and tried to grab at her, but with the dagger lodged in his hand, she moved the blade so it stood horizontal – separating the two pieces of bone even further. With a sickening snap, it moved out of place, and it seemed, being more interested in women than actual fighting, he passed out either from the noise it produced, or the perhaps the pain.

Freya moved about in an attempt to keep everyone together, and aid as many people as possible. This strategy soon turned out to be a bad one, when soon enough people had been defeated to gain up on her. She began trying to summon a dragon to help her, but was smashed against the arm, causing her to stumble to the side.

Instead, she tried her jump ability – being able to seemingly float higher than anyone could possibly follow, she would easily be able to recover above. Just as she was about to take off though, Cinna's own sledgehammer – abandoned on the ground when he went down – slammed into her knee, shattering the bone inside, causing her to cry out. She crumpled to the ground, as they pulled a sack over her head to keep her quiet.

Eventually, the fumes inside got to her, and she fell unconscious to the ground.

From a safe distance away, Dagger cast a cure spell on her, and though it would have eased the pain and the injury itself had she been awake, it only drew attention to Dagger now. She held her staff tightly, not afraid to fight – but one of Beatrix's bolts (since all of this was happening basically at once) found her as a stray target, and she herself fell easily, no fight put up at all.

This had caught Zidane's attention, causing him to abandon Blank in the midst of a battle to try and retrieve her fallen form, only to have him stopped by the leader. With a wicked grin, he shot a water spell at Zidane. It was weak, but it had its effects as the vision of failing to hold onto Blank during Dagger's summon flashed through his mind, it easily caused him to be paralyzed for a long enough time for them to kick him when he was down – knocking him too out of the fight.

Marcus was now fighting along with Blank, having held his own for the most of this fight. They all saw that obviously the Tantalus Crew member was one of the strongest fighters – or at least had the most will to scuffle, and aimed towards him. Blank wouldn't let him go down so easily though, and took down another guy – using his smaller body to duck between Marcus' leg and stab the man in the groin, immediately taking the fight out of him.

When they didn't go down right away, and with Vivi and Eiko still managing their way around the enemy, a frustrated yell was heard that caused everyone's blood to run cold, and ultimately freeze, no matter if they were in the middle of killing someone or not.

"_Stop!_" The feminine voice was _far_ more frightening than anything they had heard since the last time they had seen Ruby and Beatrix mad on the same occasion. They watched as a beautiful young girl, a heavy axe easily being maneuvered in her arms, her dazzling chocolate eyes, harsh with agitation.

"You idiots…" She heaved the axe forward, pointing it at Blank, seemingly ready to chop his head off, "Surrender, or he dies."

No one made a move, until Blank struggled against the man holding him, "No! Don't!"

She moved it closer, "Keep your opinion to yourself redhead… or you'll get it…" She leaned closer, "Though you are kinda cute… maybe I should keep you around for other things," She winked suggestively, but soon a dagger lodged itself into her shoulder.

Of course, it didn't get very far past her leather armor, and she plucked it out with disgust – it only scratched her mocha colored skin. She glanced up, along with Blank, to see Ruby angrily standing a good fifteen feet away, rage seeping off of her.

"Good job sweetie, any closer and you might have achieved an eighth of your job…"

She howled in rage, and pulled out a second dagger, moving with enhanced speed towards the woman.

Easily, the axe came down on her arm, lodging itself in her skin. The scream shattered the eerie illusion over the whole thing, and when she pulled the axe out, blood oozed down the woman's arm. She slapped a hand over it, glaring immensely.

The brunette didn't seem fazed as she moved back to blank, "Surrender!" She barked.

Irritated, Marcus threw down his own dagger, and Vivi and Eiko moved forward as Vivi interrupted his own firega spell.

She flipped her hair at the general standing over Dagger, "Figures you couldn't do the job."

"Where's your boyfriend, Lani?" He barked, "Shouldn't you be with him?"

She chuckled, "You're just angry that I rejected you," She spoke nonchalantly, causing him to fume. "Bring in the trash boys!" She ordered, moving away, "Amateur… Needing backup. Sick…" She commented before moving away.

They couldn't believe they just so easily let their guards fall… Let alone… allow themselves to lose this battle…

?

Dagger awoke with a start, jolting awake in a leaky, moist room. She glanced around, seeing only herself in the cell. Her head rippled with pain as she crawled to the bars, glancing across the way to see Blank on the ground. Blood seeped over the ground, making her bite her lip in fear.

_What happened?_ She tried to think back, but every time she attempted it, a flood of pain would shudder through her body.

"Blank!" She hissed, just to see if he would respond.

He ever-so-slowly swiveled to the side, in an attempt to look at her, and she winced when she saw the blood smeared on his face.

"Don't worry," he assured, "it's not mine…"

She let out of the breath she didn't know she was holding when she glanced around, "What's going on?"

"You were hit with a lightening bolt… We were ambushed on our way to meet Baku…"

The memories came flooding back to her, and though she wasn't conscious for quite as long as everyone else, she whipped her head around in worry, "Where is everyone else?"

Blank gestured lightly around them, "There in the cells next to us… I think… From where I lay I can see Cinna… They knocked him out pretty hard… to my right though – I can't see anyone."

"This is not good…" She shook her head in despair, "How are we going to get out?" She whispered frantically.

"You aren't…" Out of no where, a pale man with flaming red hair walked by, hunched over, a mysterious aura floating around him in an almost lazy and uncaring fashion.

"What do you mean?" Blank hopped to his feet, though the girl didn't miss his flinch at the movement of his body.

"Not with me as a guard… And especially not with how many guards they put outside this place…"

"Who are you?" Blank demanded, his anger swelling inside of him. He crossed his arms as though it would help him get answers.

The man saw right through him, "Trying to make yourself look intimidating isn't working when you're behind bars without a key you know…"

Blank's glare only intensified.

The man chuckled and crossed his arms, leaning against the molding wall on Dagger's side of the prison, "You're kind of short? How old are you – eight?"

Blank then growled, his lip curling, his pearly teeth showing slightly, "Where are the others?"

"One's being executed."

The girl gasped, immediately her heart snapping into two inside her chest. Blank's arms dropped to his side in defeat, and watching their reactions made him chuckle.

"Kidding."

This caused Dagger's anger, surprisingly, to flash when Blank's didn't. "What the hell do you want?" She demanded, stomping her foot.

"Nothing you can give me…" He shrugged and twirled the ring of keys on his finger, "See you later…" He walked away, leaving them there confused.

?

It was there third day in the cells, and Dagger's eyes were finally about to close – she hadn't gotten any sleep and she was so close to unconsciousness. A smile crept onto her lips as she settled herself cozier into the floor.

And a dangle began.

Shooting up, she looked as though she were going to rip through the cages of the cell and tear whoever was making that noise's head off.

Of course who was it, than the God damn guard who they met on their first day. He always came through at the worst times! Either her or Blank was just about to fall asleep, and here came the damn man, jingling his keys as though taunting them out of sleep and freedom.

She damned the day he was born.

He nodded in her direction, oblivious or just not caring towards the glare she was shooting at him. In her mind, a mental picture of a thousand daggers stabbing him was playing out, satisfying her to enough of an extent that she didn't go on a rampage.

She lay back on the floor, though the essence of sleep had completely left her.

?

Zidane groaned, pulling his head off of the floor. His eyes were misty and blurry, and he felt nauseated to the point of puking out his guts. He grabbed his head, and dropped it between his knees, his tail limp on the ground behind him.

What the hell had happened?

"Zidane!" The gasp was certainly a surprised one, and he heard a light scamper across from him. The voice was feminine but he couldn't make it out.

When he didn't answer, the voice sounded again, "Are you alright?" She questioned, fearful of his answer.

"I can't see, my head hurts like shit, and I could throw up until I'm less than fifteen pounds – what…" He trailed, squeezing his eyes shut as a wave of pain collapsed on him. "Who is that?" He questioned.

"Beatrix…" She answered, and the authoritive tone in her voice suddenly made a little more sense.

Vicious memories flooded back to him, making him groan and fall back, allowing his eyes to close.

"Zidane…" She spoke with worry he hadn't heard in quite a while.

He grumbled something, and though she couldn't hear it, she spoke back to him anyways, "Are you alright? Please don't pass out again."

"Again?" He murmured, though enough for her to hear.

"You were out for three days…"

He shot up, ignoring the spinning of the world, and managed to hook his fingers onto the bars of the cell to keep his balance, _"Three days?"_ She nodded, even if to him it looked like a blob of almond color moving around. He didn't know what her answer was, but he groaned. "How are we going to get out?"

"You aren't!"

?

**A/N: So… interesting chapter eh? Lol You'll be excited by the next one :) I hope you enjoyed this! Please review!**

**-zesty-**


	31. Chapter 30: Betrayal of Emotions

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Chapter 30: Betrayal of Emotions**

"_You aren't!"_ The new voice was harsh and more official sounding. He couldn't really tell in this state, if he would consider her voice very high, or normal – distinguishing between the two required thought and not all sounds to be drowned out and messed up.

Beatrix turned and stuck her nose up – the woman posed a threat, and she could tell something really bad was going to happen soon with her.

The girl flipped her chocolate hair, batting her eyelashes slightly at the blonde, "I'm going to make sure of that…"

Zidane actually snorted, sounding a lot more confident than he actually was, "We always manage."

"Right…" She rolled her eyes, exasperated, "You know… A dreamer won't be taken so lightly to escape – we'd find you before you got a mile away."

"Like you did last time?" He challenged with a smirk; she huffed and turned to the knight.

Though no words escaped her mouth, a certain type of threat seemed to flow out of her mouth. Beatrix wasn't very intimidated – but she would be more confident had she not been behind bars. She only sat up straighter, and refused to look away from the intent gaze. It was the only type of defiance she could complete.

"Your duty was more important, why are you down here?" The girl whipped around to see a man with a red afro looking head of hair. He was hunched over, a pair of keys dangling in his hands.

"Just to see what kind of mistakes you were making with these people," she spat at him, trying to make herself look better than him.

Zidane though, could see the look in her eyes – it was the same look Steiner and Beatrix had always given each other… Always trying to seem like the superior one, but having the tenderness still sparkle in their irises.

He shrugged nonchalantly, as he continued walking, "None of them have escaped yet…" He said simply, moving forward.

"Red…" Her voice was a pinch nicer than it had been moments ago.

"Huh?" He sounded like a caveman – Zidane almost laughed at their exchange despite the situation he was in.

"Keep it up…" She spoke almost mechanically and whipped around the corner, but Zidane didn't miss the blush apparent on her face. He chuckled.

"Why do you take that shit?"

He shrugged, "It's just my job – she can say whatever she want, it doesn't change anything."

"I guess…" Zidane fell on his butt, leaning forward to stretch out his limbs. He was still in extreme pain, but he didn't let it bother him any further. "You could do a lot better…" He suggested, waving his hand, as though his voice wasn't important.

"I don't really want to, but I'll bite… Why do you say that?"

"Ohh…" He sighed, "No reason…" He blinked, staring up at the man, running his hand on the moist ground, but soon thinking otherwise and just folding them in his lap.

Beatrix raised an eyebrow at Zidane's antics – he was quite confusing at times, but she would go with it, "You get guard duty all the time?"

"Yup…" He nodded at her, then turned back to the Genome, mildly curious about what he was going to say. The dim lighting didn't light his eyes, but the blonde took the chance – it was the only thing he could do.

"That's what I mean… down in this shitty dump – guarding people who… some are too sore even to move… You want that as a life?"

"I do this so I can fight." He shrugged, jingling his keys. Somewhere down the corridor, there was a loud, frustrated growl. The brunette thought it sounded a lot like Blank, but she shook it off as unimportant.

"Excuse me?" Zidane raised an eyebrow, Beatrix sitting straighter, straining to listen to the man's grumbling.

"The best of the best get captured by Kuja's army – I fight most of them…"

"Think of how many people you could be getting on your own – part of the skill _is_ finding them…" He turned to the side, the guard seeing his profile, though his azure eyes stayed locked on him.

This seemed to dawn on the man named 'Red', but he masked it quickly with a neutral tone, "This satisfies me enough…"

But that's where the conversation ended, leading Beatrix and Zidane to believe that perhaps it wasn't all that it was meant to be. His footsteps echoed long after he was gone, but soon the dripping of water in Zidane's cell was the only thing that could be heard.

Eventually, as he leaned backwards, ignoring the fact his back was becoming damp, he drifted into an uncomfortable sleep… But he was getting rest nevertheless, and that's what he wanted the most.

Before slipping into his unsettling sleep, he watched in the dim light, as Beatrix lay on the ground, her head turned away from him. He could tell what she was thinking, though he couldn't see her face.

Their attempts at making the guard mad… They didn't know quite what would happen.

?

Lani walked down the hall, ready to surprise her friend with a day off. She hopped down the stairs, and was about to turn the corner yelling out to him, when she stopped dead to listen.

"The resistance can give you that better life…" The former captain of the Queen's protection so long ago in Alexandria had a pleading voice, as though desperate for the man to listen.

"How do you propose we get out, huh?" His voice was skeptical and slightly amused, but she fumed knowing he even entertained the idea.

Slowly she backed up. She wouldn't get Red in trouble… No… she had a better plan. In order to put it into action, she wouldn't be able to make her presence known. Carefully she faded back into the shadows – never noticed in the first place.

"I don't think so…" He snorted at Zidane's answer of stealth.

"What's your name?" Beatrix asked, her voice soft in an attempt to gain his trust. Whether it was working or not at that time, she would never know.

He shrugged, "I've got a lot of them… Most around here call me Red."

"Red, huh?" Zidane tilted his head, probing with his eyes for more.

"My real name is Amarant Coral."

?

Lani moved quickly, the keys jingling at her side. Zidane was sitting up against the side of his cell, flicking mold he pulled off the wall earlier that day. Wow – he was bored.

She jammed the key violently into the lock and almost broke the key in an attempt to open it. Sapphire eyes were wide and confused as she walked briskly in and yanked him up by his arm.

"Follow me and do what I say."

He stumbled as she tugged him rather roughly along, and they stopped in front of Blank and Dagger's cells.

"Zidane!" She gasped, jumping up, relief flooding her features.

Blank was already on his feet, hands wrapped around the bars. Zidane's vision was basically back to normal, and he saw the both of them, a fondness growing in his eyes.

At this time, Lani pulled her axe off of her back, and heaved it into the bars of Blank's cell, only a half a foot above his hands. Despite himself, the redhead yelped and stumbled back.

"Do what I say, or I break his arm." To prove this, she hauled the axe handle into the wall, leaving a large dent.

Zidane looked at her in bewilderment, but waited for a command. His confusion only added to the tension of the area. "Kiss me." She demanded.

The three of them froze. Dagger's heart instantly broke. Though her and Zidane weren't together, someone as beautiful as Lani with the blonde – it made her chest heave in sorrow already. Blank was unsure what Zidane would do – he knew where his loyalties stood, but that was the problem. He would choose to save Blank's arm, but in the mean time, killing Dagger.

"Zidane…" He spoke calmly.

The three were still pretty frozen as Lani's expression became more and more smug.

"Do it otherwise he gets it –"

"It can be healed!" Zidane's head began spinning as he saw Dagger in the corner of his eye, shoulder's shaking slightly, and he saw a glint of a tear rolling down her cheek. Out of fear for her friends, and for what was about to happen.

"I'm gonna do it to both of his arms –"

"Zidane she's bluffing! Don't break her –"

As words filled the corridor, he swiftly wrapped an arm around the woman's waist and pulled her close, catching her lips on his. She smirked into it, and though he hated it, he was doing a _damn_ fine job kissing!

Dagger moved away from the bars, suddenly feeling angry. She didn't want to cry, and she didn't want to show a weakness. It hurt her yes, and she tried to ignore the worried glances from Blank.

He watched the girl, her short hair bobbing as she moved from side to side, and his anger welled, "_Zidane you dumb ass stop!"_ He commanded, but to no avail, Lani now had her hands tightly around his neck and head – he couldn't be done even if he wanted to.

Finally the mocha skinned warrior pushed him back and wiped her lips, still grinning. Zidane couldn't look at anyone who witnessed the event. She chuckled, and tugged at his hand, shoving him back into his cell. He put up no fight – for once, the spunk leaving him altogether.

?

Another two days – pretty uneventful. Though Beatrix still conversed with Amarant, Zidane said nothing at any time. He stared at the wall, his back to the cell, and he didn't drink or eat anything that was offered to him.

"Zidane…" The low, mysterious voice broke through his thoughts, as he turned slightly, giving the man his profile once again. "What she did was shitty…"

"You think?" He grunted, turning back – he wouldn't talk to the man anymore. He was allies with that witch who most likely ruined his life…

?

A light showed in the distance, and there was faded conversing he couldn't understand. He was pretty out of it, only opening his eyes for a few seconds at a time.

Truth be told, he was exhausted. These past events were just too much on his small body, and he couldn't quite take the injuries he had received in their previous fight. He shot a wavering a slightly blurry glance at the cell across from him. The purple haired girl – what was her name again? Sat, speaking with the moogle she kept hidden whenever guards came about.

He figured he should warn her – tell her that he saw a light, but he couldn't bring himself to speak. His body shifted, and the purple haired girl looked in his direction as the moogle jumped back into her overalls, shrinking itself in size.

He felt limp on whoever's grasp he was in, whether it be good or bad, he was grateful for the warmth. His feet dragged across the ground, making a light scratch, and a smudge in the dirt on the floor.

"Vivi…" The voice was firm, as though it masked feminine tone, but there was still a caring undertone that flitted through his ears.

"How's he doing?" The high pitched tone was a strain on his ears, but it was comforting in a familiar way he couldn't quite pin.

"Bad… He still is not responding…"

The black mage wondered vaguely what they were talking about. Surely not him right? He tried to speak, but no words came out. He found it odd but ignored it. Fatigue overtook him – his glowing eyes (now dimmed in his condition) closing completely, falling into another slumber.

Eiko glanced at the mage who just again fell asleep. She moved towards to the bars and wrapped her tiny fingers around the icy bars. "Freya?" She questioned, biting her lip as though she were uncomfortable.

The Bermecian glanced up – not showing her eyes, but flicking her hair from her face so she could see the young girl, "Yes?"

"Do you think we'll get out of here?"

Freya looked around the abandoned corridors, vacant of everything but moist, suffocating air and the occasional rat. She scrunched up her nose, sticking it up in the air disgusted. Eiko awaited an answer, noticing the woman's tough features – really admiring her courage.

"I am going to be honest with you, Eiko. In the condition things are now, I do not know…" She shook her head, and turned her attention back to Vivi.

The young girl was envious that the knight got to busy herself with taking care of her ally. A not-too-serious jealousy bubbled inside of her, causing her to sigh and lean against the wall. The longer she was cooped up, no sun to touch her skin, and no air to tickle her tongue – she was becoming agitated and cranky – not a good combination.

Suddenly, a guard moved quickly in front of Freya's cell, jittery and looking like he needed a dose of whatever he was taking. A more composed guard placed a hand on the man's shoulder, causing him to flinch.

His arm flung up and he pointed a finger in the direction of the Bermecian, "_Her!_" He shrieked, "It was her!" He yelped, his eyes frantic.

Freya raised an amused eyebrow, tilting her head to the side as she shifted Vivi in her lap. "She's the one who killed my unit in the woods!"

Suddenly, the woman froze. It seemed so long ago – it _was_ long ago! But she wouldn't forget it… The unit in the woods speaking of ambushing the rest of Bermecia, wiping out anyone else who was fighting against them… wipe out the King and Fratley. She had turned on them and killed them, thinking that all of them had gone down.

All they were doing was having a good time by the fire, laughing and making jokes that no one else would hear – but she did… She knew, and she killed them. That was coming back to haunt her now…

The guard unlocked the door and kicked the delirious mage off of her lap. "Come with me." Freya was too dumbfounded to resist, positively shocked at what was happening.

"Freya?" Eiko questioned, trying to snap her out of it. It fortunately worked, as Freya slammed the guard into the bars, and punched him in the face.

She scrambled to move, as the shaky guard was screaming and jumping around as though he burned his foot on something extremely hot. The man rammed into the bars stuck his thin arm through and grabbed her tail.

The force he tugged at was amazing, and she thought for sure that her tail would snap off. As she got to the bars, stranded until he let go, he snaked his arms around her waist. Luckily, she thought this might happen, and she leaned forward with all of her force, bucking this way and that, making the man repeatedly hit his face on the cell bars.

The commotion was heard by the rest of the guards, now yelling orders to each other to move, as Freya scrambled down the other end of the hall. Scampering up the wet stone, she jumped at a torch and knocked it down, catching it before the dancing flames vanished.

As adrenaline rushed through her veins, she thought against fire finally, and with all of her strength, summoned a dragon. A blinding light filled the place, as a ghost of a long figure appeared out of nowhere. It began to materialize slightly, and glided though the air, confused on what it was doing. Freya, with all her might, thought of extinguishing the fires, and the dragon raced along the hallways, snuffing out every flame within its range.

She dashed through the halls, knowing she wouldn't trip on anything, so long as she didn't run into a wall. The condition she was in was great as she rounded a corner. This reminded her _so_ much of escaping the Alexandria castle, and pain dragged her down. That was even so long ago – all she wanted to do was be at home again.

A sudden cry ripped through the air, and made her blood run cold. She stopped, a flicker in her head reminding her of something. She had left Vivi there with the guards. They would definitely take out their anger on him – the poor little guy! He wasn't in any condition to fight back, or possibly even stay alive.

For the first time in her life, Freya was torn with what she was supposed to do. Go back for her ally, or free herself in hopes of helping everyone out of there in a few days. The choice tore her apart, but she turned on her heel, and began hurrying back, yelling on her way, "I'm coming, Vivi hold on!"

?

**A/N: Hmm… More interesting things than I thought would happen haha. :D I hope you enjoyed the chapter – hopefully you all aren't too terribly mad at Zidane :P Please review and I'll update faster!**

**-zesty-**


	32. Chapter 31: A Secret Known as Rescue

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 incase you didn't know by now :)**

**Chapter 31: A Secret Known as Rescue**

_Ribbon fell from just above her head, and her ice colored eyes glittering in the rare sunlight that covered the city._

"_A special gift for a special occasion."_

"_Huh?" She questioned, tilting her head._

"_I do not think you know how much you mean to me…"_

_But she didn't hear him; she bent down and picked up the ribbon from the ground. It was silver and blue. The two colors mixed together in a pattern she couldn't even begin to explain, but she knew it wasn't an ordinary piece of ribbon._

_It felt like velvet as she rubbed it between her index finger and thumb, a smile dancing upon her lips; he could tell she was pleased._

"_This is beautiful…" She nodded, glancing up at him. "But what do I use it for?"_

"_Whenever you need comfort, or need to be reminded of me…" He nodded, "Whenever you need something to hold back your hair, when I'm not around to do so, or whenever I'm not here to hold something together..."_

_She nodded, truly enchanted by what she was hearing, "Will it really be able to do all that?"_

"_And more…" He nodded, as she threw her arms around him._

"_Thank you, Fratley!"_

"_Years from now, I cannot even begin to think where we'll be…" He smiled at her._

"_Together…" She confirmed, revealing to him that she had heard him earlier. With that, the small form of the Bermecian pulled him lower to her height, finding his lips with hers._

?

Freya rounded the corner, almost slipping on the water. She forced herself up, and kept running, desperate to get back to the mage.

She remembered how angry she was when she had agreed to leave Fratley, and now she knew she was making the same mistake. The torches on that side of the hall were still lit – either from a defect in range from her dragon, or from the edgy guard relighting something so he could see. Either way, she saw that the guard had kicked Vivi again…

Who knew what kind of punishment he had endured for the few minutes Freya had been gone. She jumped, kicking the nervous guard square in the face, causing him to cry out and slide himself around on the ground, forcefully making his way away from the rat-like woman.

The guard came at her with his sword, which she easily dodged. She crouched, pouncing into the cage, and sliding with Vivi across the floor, just so they couldn't use him against her. Reinforcements had finally arrived and while Eiko was screaming and yelling and trying to shove her way out of her cell, they began taking strikes at Freya.

She held on heroically – she wouldn't let Vivi be taken or hurt any worse than he was. She was a protector, and she wasn't going to let him down. The resistance member watched as a gleaming sword was being swung down on her – a blow that would definitely kill.

She braced herself for the pain, but after a loud clash it never came. With eyes popping open, she couldn't believe what she saw in front of her.

"Steiner?"

?

Footsteps echoed in the corridor, pattering every so often in a shallow puddle, causing liquid drops to splatter and disintegrate into the stone. There was no light, except the flames that carried on the torch the runner had with him.

An ominous glow was seen in the distance, but before he reached the scuffle he took a sharp right. Carefully maneuvering around, he came to a stop in front of a cell. The brunette was resting, her eyes peacefully closed as she leaned against the wall of the cell.

With shaking hands, he quickly stuck the key into the lock, and when it clicked, the occupant of the cell across from her stirred as well.

"Amarant?" She questioned, surprised.

"Hurry or I'm leaving you…" He turned and opened Zidane's cell as well.

"What's going on?" The blonde demanded, slightly dazed.

"Beatrix…" He turned to her slightly, and then to the Genome, "Zidane… You promised me shelter and protection if I help you escape… I'm holding you to that."

"If you fight for our cause, I can guarantee that…" Beatrix nodded, determined.

"Then you have my word… We must move…" He darted the way he came, the two quickly sprinting behind him. They skidded to a stop in front of Cinna's cell, opening it, and pulling him up.

His head was still not in great condition – he had been unconscious for most of their stay. Amarant tossed Beatrix the keys, and she quickly unlocked Blank's cell, and went to help support Cinna, trying to rush him along.

Blank opened Dagger's cell, and helped her up, everyone too concerned with escaping from the hell hole to realize who they were with.

They turned back again, Amarant ready to lead them out.

"Wait!" Zidane cried out, "What about Vivi, and Eiko? What about Marcus?"

"Where's Ruby and Freya!" Blank shouted, angry that they were going to leave them.

"They'll be fine, I promise you. There's no time to really explain, we have to go…" The man was surprisingly calmed as he moved, but it was a quick and steady pace – they enjoyed his escape plan, even as confused as they were.

A stampede of feet trotted down the hall, halting when they came to the stairs. "What now?" Cinna desperately questioned.

"We move…" He nodded, beginning the trudge up the stairs. They slopped through the mess of water, and mold, mucky dust, and everything else that had collected on the staircase. If possible, the way down was much worse than the dungeon itself.

Amarant pulled a few cloaks from a crate when they reached the tops, throwing them at everyone, and forcing them to put them on. They opened the door and hurried, careful not to attract any attention.

Unfortunately, Cinna's slow run gave it away, and guards were on them faster than flies on garbage. They all stumbled around, trying to find where to go. The hideout was far less extravagant than trying to get around in Alexandria when the whole main group had had to escape, but this was far less familiar, which meant – far harder to get out of.

Luckily, Amarant had a little sense of where he was taking them, and burst through a window only about seven feet from the ground. He easily rolled on his fall and Zidane, Blank, and Beatrix easily made their way out.

Dagger slowly helped Cinna, but got so impatient with his fear of killing himself, she shoved him out the window, following pursuit with her own graceful landing.

The terrain was amazingly unstable. Sandy, then with some prickly grass, or perhaps a random row of bushes or trees that caused a roadblock, only slowing them down was ahead of them.

Zidane was very bothered by the fact they left almost half the group behind, but he couldn't dwell on it very long, as they jumped on a boat to cross a small but exceedingly deep river, the current dreadfully strict, and extremely strong.

The boat resembles their raft back at Dali more than anything, and by the look on everyone's faces, each and every body on that boat knew the others were hurting with the thoughts of what they had had a month or so ago.

The sun scorched everything, causing the water to be very warm – to the point of not even being very drinkable. It would only make them more thirsty, and considering their condition, and their status – they thought against it.

The blonde tried to calm himself down with thoughts of how they could get back on track, but with every glance backwards, he had this dreaded feeling that something bad was happening to the others.

?

There was no explanation to the man she saw holding his own in front of her, against the guard.

Once he slashed through the man's neck, making sure he could never breathe again, the knight pulled her up. In his usual, strong voice he spoke, "There's no time to explain… Let's go…"

He picked up Vivi, and Freya exited the cell, only to freeze. There in front of her… A muscular, tone body, a beautiful shade of blue dazzling his skin, with a tan vest, and a green hat with a red feather sticking out of it, was the man she missed most.

He was staring at her lovingly, his spear straight up just like the perfect knight, a piece of silver and blue ribbon tied neatly in a bow around it.

At this moment in Freya's life, was the first time she finally understood what it meant to be relieved, what it meant to be happy, and what people meant when they said 'everything might just turn out okay'. Tears formed in the Bermecian's eyes. She wasn't the kind of person to cry, but seeing Sir Iron-Tail Fratley once more, the best friend since she was small, the lover since she could remember – the one she yearned for the most… was finally there in front of her.

He quickly opened his arms to her, knowing they didn't have that much time, but not caring either way. She needed this… She ran towards him, wrapping her slender and long arms around his waist.

Steiner moved ahead with Eiko, who he was being acquantanced with through all of her constant questions. He unlocked the cells of everyone else, completely shocked at seeing just who they saw in front of them. Carefully, everyone escaped the way they came – avoiding the upper levels carefully. They also jumped on a boat, racing across the river in an attempt to catch up with the others.

Ruby glanced around, "Where's Blank? What about Dagger? Where's the rest of us?" She questioned, biting her lip.

"We're going to catch up to them…" Freya assured, her voice sounding more confident and almost giddy. It was kind of scary.

Marcus wheezed, not having a wonderful time floating over the water. He had had it kind of rough – talking back to the guards to get a bit of a beating. And then they started doing it for fun. He would be better once he got some food and water, along with a cure from Dagger, but until then he would struggle.

"Look!" Steiner pointed across the lake to see another raft type boat, everyone on that platform crowding around the front in an attempt to see where land was. They looked uneasy… restless.

The knight scanned the raft, and spotted Beatrix. She seemed to be holding Dagger back, the young girl – he froze. She looked angry… Not even just that… absolutely _pissed_ at Zidane. Though now, he wasn't sure what his feelings were towards that, he watched the princess' hands shake violently. Her hair…

Her lovely raven hair, always cascading down her back in an essence of beauty… It was gone. He touched on that briefly, but had to move back to Beatrix. He yearned to see her so much… He wondered what kind of a reaction she had when she found out the news of him being dead. He himself had heard it – and decided to keep a low profile to travel to Bermecia.

There was a yell from the other boat, Blank pointing to the other raft. Ruby's face lit up, and he figured something must have happened with the two – more so than what had been going on towards the end of their stay in Dali.

Everyone maneuvered themselves to turn around, and that's when Beatrix saw him. She stared at him for only a few moments, before a sudden movement truly touched him.

She dove into the water. Beatrix lost all composer. She stumbled and jumped and paddled in the most ungraceful un-Beatrix like way anyone could ever imagine. Steiner stood, too stunned to say or do anything at all.

She swam as fast as she could, and when she got close, Ruby and Marcus helped her up onto the raft. Her heart was beating fast, her face red, and her breath coming out in short puffs. She was exhausted. Not eating or drinking much for the past week, not sleeping easily in the past few weeks, and not moving around that much since they left Dali in the past month made her want to fall over and rest. But she couldn't – not when she was finally in front of Steiner.

The first thing she did was stare at him, and touch his cheek making sure that he was actually there. He didn't open his mouth to say a thing – he knew better. Next she brought her hand back and slapped him across the face. He kept his head to the side, knowing that he deserved it – feeling from her standing in front of him, that he put her through a lot of pain.

Then she placed a hand on both sides of his face and yanked him down. She caught his lips on hers, and kissed him, immediately closing her eyes and pulled him closer to her. He eventually closed his eyes and wrapped his large arms around her petite waist, dumping more passion into their kiss than he thought possible.

Everyone started to cheer, seeing that the two finally told each other how they felt.

Amarant awkwardly looked around, not quite knowing what was going on, as he moved the boat forward again, having enough knowledge to put together the fact that the knight was not swimming back to their boat.

Fratley followed suit as the reunion went on behind him – it had been so long since he had seen everyone… Freya especially, that he was in fact slightly jealous, but he did not hold it against them for long, as Beatrix's fears were confirmed in his eyes, of truly believing Steiner was dead.

Beatrix closed her eyes, and though her clothes were clinging to her body, water dripping off of her, she felt truly warm. She never knew quite what people meant until now… In the bar that sorrowful night, she had indeed been similar to Freya – so she was happy they _both_ got their happy ending.

?

Eventually, Dagger's adrenaline ran out, and she came to realize she was on the little raft with Zidane. Tension came out of nowhere, and everyone felt awkward on the ship. Blank chewed on his lip as he watched Zidane look out across the water, not knowing at all what his best friend was thinking about.

Then he would glance at Dagger and see that she was glaring… well… daggers into him. The death glares were taken to a new level and every once in a while, she would flick water up at his back with her staff.

Either he was too involved in his thoughts, or he didn't care, and that infuriated her even further.

Cinna also glanced at the two of them, and the redhead was surprised he hadn't made some sort of a comment to the two of them.

That impressed feeling shattered when the fat Tantalus member spoke, "Would you two stop being angry, it's ruining the happy mood – making me jealous of the partying raft not too far away."

Zidane glanced at him in a confused way, "Huh?"

Dagger rolled her eyes, "Typical."

The blonde was truly confused, and Blank suddenly felt bad for the taller thief – the poor guy was too occupied to know what was going on.

"Why are you even mad at him, Dagger? He doesn't seem mad at you."

"He has no right to be!" She barked, loud enough to make the rest of us jump. "I have reason – _more_ than one!" She almost shrieked.

"Dagger, you should be a little quieter when raging about Zidane being a dumb ass… We aren't out of the woods yet."

"Technically, we're not in the woods, we're on a lake…" Cinna snorted with laughter at his own joke, "You could – you could," He couldn't get out what he was going to say with his chortles, "say… we're not o-outta the _water_ yet!" He howled with laughter, but I found Dagger directing her glares towards him now, Zidane had gone back to his staring at the horizon, Amarant rolled his eyes, and I was debating the situation at hand too much to really care.

My teammate sighed and looked down, his attempt at lightening the mood rather shattered.

I could only chuckle. The situation wasn't funny, but at the same time…

?

On the other raft, things were very peaceful. Fratley and Freya conversed quietly as he moved the raft forward. Beatrix sat beside Steiner. They were mostly silent, but Ruby could see they stole quick glances at each other, and smiled every time they were caught doing so. Vivi lay unconscious on the raft, his head in Ruby's lap. Marcus was quite similar to Zidane, staring off into the space – nothingness.

Ruby was excited to see Blank again. There were still no established feelings, but they now knew the other cared about each other, though it didn't necessarily change their attitude towards each other. Ruby still got pissed at Blank, and Blank was still scared of her. It was kind of the way their relationship functioned.

She massaged her temples, but still didn't speak to anyone. She simply wanted to go home, even though she didn't know where said home was at the moment.

When they finally docked on shore, the other team was waiting for them. Dagger squealed and jumped into Steiner's arms, truly delighted to see the knight once again. She embraced him for a while, crying and telling him never to do that again.

Everyone waited patiently, and after she finally let go of him, a little embarrassed at her gleeful outburst, Steiner took Vivi gingerly into his arms.

"What next?" Marcus asked. They didn't know where anyone else was – Christ… They didn't know if anyone else even knew they were kidnapped.

"We don't even have a trail," Dagger observed out loud glancing about.

"Well… We have quite a story to tell everyone…" Fratley nodded; he pulled out provisions so they could rest up and dry off a little, and also hear the story, "Let's rest a little bit before we start…"

?

**A/N: Yay! We're done with that chapter! :D So how was it? Anti-climactical I know, but it leads to better things :D The story, which is next chapter, I thought was pretty clever and it all kinda makes sense!**

**Please review and let me know what you think!**

**-zesty-**


	33. Chapter 32: A Long Trek

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**A/N: I'm sooo sorry it's been such a long time! I didn't even realize how long it had been! I had all of this written then my computer broke and my brother-in-law had to take the hard drive to fix it, and OMG I'm so sorry! I hope all of your are still alive! Hopefully all of my readers will keep reader, and reviewers (maybe even some new ones) will keep reviewing! I'm sorry!  
**

**Chapter 32: A Long Trek**

_Steiner realized that he had no idea where anyone went. For a while, he stayed back in Dali in an attempt to help villagers after most of the resistance had fled. He saw the major explosion, though he wasn't sure who it was from._

_He figured they didn't have a plan, and would be sitting targets at the Observatory for a while – so he thought he had time._

_Moving swiftly, he avoided guards. Something he never thought possible because of his clanky armor, and even in his mind… He could tell he wasn't a spectacular knight – at least in comparison to Beatrix._

_Shoving his arm through a window, he jumped inside, coughing as smoke filled his lungs. Mostly everything was still charred, but he remembered Beatrix saying that she told the mayor's daughter to stay upstairs in hiding until her parents came to get her._

_That never came, as they lit the mayor's house on fire shortly after the burst of resistance members shot through the ground. Stumbling, he wobbling jumped up the stairs, holding his hand over his mouth to reduce the smoke he breathed in._

_Glancing around, he began throwing everything open. Wardrobes, chests, and anything else he could get his hands on, he pried open._

_Finally, going into a room with a torch in the middle, flames blazing about, he spotted an unopened chest. He was sweating, so he wasn't sure if the girl had fled or not, because even she should know to get out, despite what the knight told her._

_Hopping as far over the fire as he could, he slammed into the wall. Grumbling, he kicked at the chest to try and open it. It seemed to be jammed. Suddenly, the bed went ablaze and he himself almost caught on fire. With a grunt, he thrust open the chest and there was the little girl. She was sweating and bawling her eyes out._

_Gingerly picking her up, he glanced around for an exit other than going through the fire. Unfortunately there was none, but he had to use his head to get both of them out of there alive. At this time, he wasn't thinking about the resistance anymore. He knew they couldn't go far, even with the airships they had stored… He would find a way back – his primary focus should be giving back to Dali – as they had protected them for as long as they could._

_Quote unsteadily, he unsheathed his sword, even as the little girl screamed. He began beating on the wall – kicking it, and smashing into it, hoping it would give way. At first, he thought it wasn't any good. But by some miraculous rotting point a few feet away from the horrible storm they had not all that long ago, things began to crumble. Kicking at it a bit more, he shoved at the pink wall and almost fell out._

_This time, he used the wall as a support for his weight so he didn't trip out the hole. Luckily, it was on the side of the house not facing the town. They would be concealed. He found that it was the bed frame on fire, and snatched the little girl's mattress of the bed. Squeezing it through the hole he noticed the end of it had caught flame._

_He acted quickly, sweeping the little girl up, and jumping out, covering her mouth so she wouldn't scream._

_He glanced around nervously, and dashed for the weeds, narrowly missing a group of soldiers running by. Moving low, the girl sick from smoke, and still crying her eyes out in fear, he held her tightly and rolled down a hill not too far off. Glancing around, he saw a storage shed for farming tools. He rammed into the door, breaking the lock, and set her inside on a crate._

"_Don't move from here, alright?" He ordered, and she could only weep._

"_Don't leave!" She demanded, crying fiercer than before._

"_I'll be back, I promise. Just stay here… Hide once you get a little fresh air, okay?" She nodded meekly._

_Steiner preformed many more heroic savings that same day. The soldiers cleared out, thinking that the townspeople were scared out of their wits, at least half of them dead, and with the resistance gone they no longer had a reason for being there. The unfortunate part, was that General Strand executed the mayor for helping such a civilization live in his dirt._

_His wife, Steiner didn't know about, but he moved in a weary condition, down to the shed where he had instructed every able citizen to go when they could without being noticed. He saw faced he knew, and was relieved to see so many okay, but there were also so many that had died a fiery death. Worse, there were even more who were slaughtered violently at the hands of Kuja's soldiers._

_Biting his lip, he told them that he could no longer help them. He didn't know what to do, or where to direct them. Sighing, he tapped into his mental map – memorized so many years ago, and realized the only place to go without crossing the mountain passes (flocked with Kuja's guards now-a-days), was Treno._

_He decided that the least he could do was take these people to Treno, and allow them to settle themselves in – he owed them that much, even though he was the only resistance member to stay behind._

_They were all grateful to have a guide, and someone who knew how to fight. Ever so slowly, they started out on the long trek south._

_?_

_They were halfway to Treno. Tired, hungry, and with no shelter, few were completely healthy. Steiner bit his lip – he wasn't used to doing this alone. He was great at this kind of stuff yes, but supporting people on the social end of things wasn't his forte, and he always let others do it._

_Letting out a puff of air, he offered his blanket to the mayor's daughter – her frightened eyes had toughened, even though they still held the spark of fear in the beautiful dark orbs. She reminded him slightly of Dagger, and he yearned for the rest of his team – his family…_

_No one had anything else to offer – Dali basically being taken off of the map. So, they didn't know what to expect when they saw a small group traveling towards them. Luckily, Kuja had recruited zero Bermecians into his army, so once their long legs and hands were made out, along with the whooshing, thin tail behind them, they were welcomed with open arms._

_Steiner thought one of the Bermecian's – a pale blue, with a feathered hat, and a spear with a beautifully colored ribbon on it – looked vaguely familiar, but for the time being, he shrugged it off. They provided a tent for shelter – amazingly big enough to cram everyone inside, with the help of a couple refuge moogles as well._

_There were eight rat-like creatures that joined us – that was almost half of our own population. There was now enough protection to gather food, and enough support by sociable people to get sicknesses beginning to be cured, and definite bonds to be made._

_The rest of the way to Treno was actually an enjoyable one. Steiner got to know people who otherwise would have died in a fire…_

_?_

_It turns out the knight finally pin-pointed where he had seen that specific Bermecian before. It was Sir Irontail Fratley – Freya's boyfriend, and the king's protector. He was upon them too – which explained their exquisite traveling supplies._

_Steiner and Fratley, being the leaders of either group, helped everyone locate places to stay in Treno that would attract no attention to them, considering where they all came from. Carefully, everyone fell into spots, and one night, Fratley and Steiner were walking the mayor's daughter to the king's house. He had taken a liking to her, and had decided to have her stay with him – until everything was one hundred percent figured out._

_They were standing on the bridge over the lake – a beautiful glimmering lake that went on for as long as they eye (and more) could see. It wavered slightly in the stillness of the night, contrasting with old Treno that bustled even more lively than during the day. He sighed, _the city that never sleeps has finally slumbered… _And that's when it happened._

_All at once, coming splashing out of the water was none other than Quina. At first he was very confused, but once we dragged him onto shore and bought him some fried frog's legs (which he insisted were fake, as the real thing tasted better) he told the story._

_They were all alive, and just escaping a place called Conde Petie – Steiner knew where that was – and a small girl named Eiko, whom they found, guided them to Madain Sari – that one, Fratley knew of – to have dinner. He jumped into the river after a fish, and after that – the rest of the story remained a mystery to him as well._

_He was so excited when he found out that Freya's long lost lover was standing before him, he gave a whole hearted lick, half way up the body. As Fratley stood frozen in shock and disgust, shuddering with the smell and sensation of Quina's saliva, the Qu's tongue waggled back and forth like a dog's tail._

_The mayor's daughter laughed – the first time since Dali had been destroyed, and each of them knew it was going to get easier from then on…_

_When she was finally out of their presence, Fratley turned to Steiner._

"_I think we should move out."_

"_What?" Steiner questioned skeptically._

"_Everyone knows who you are, especially in Treno. Gossip travels here the fastest. A moogle was already sent on his way with the letter of your death – no one will be looking for you now, but if they happen to come across you… I cannot tell you the consequence you'll receive."_

"_We can't leave these people defenseless!"_

"_I'm leaving the rest of my brethren with them…" Fratley nodded gravely, "I am going with you because I have not been part of the resistance in a long time, and I wish to see Freya." The knight couldn't argue – as he had been longing to see Beatrix for some time now._

"_We should move now… But how to get to them?" Steiner questioned out loud, frustration apparent in his tone._

"_Roo!" Quina nodded._

"_Roo?" Fratley questioned._

"_I know way – secret passage to Zidane and yummy treats!"_

"_Zidane?"_

"_Fratley, I'll explain the whole story on the way… As of right now Quina, please lead us… We have enough supplies to make it without stopping."_

"_Quina find food, me very hungry!" He waddled off, and Steiner gaped at him, stunned that the Qu could take things so lightly._

_Fratley smiled fondly at the Qu, knowing him a little longer than Steiner, "Quina, would you like some frogs?"_

"_Frogs?" He gasped, whipping around._

"_Yes, I have some for you as a reward to leading us to the resistance…" He smiled again, this time wider, showing his pearly fanged teeth._

"_Okay!" He agreed and began to walk. Steiner then gaped at Fratley, amazing at how instantaneously he knew what Quina desired. The Bermecian chuckled and jogged to catch up with their friend. Steiner quickly followed_

_?_

'_Roo' turned out to be the one and only Fossil Roo. Steiner didn't even believe it existed, hearing so many stories, but never stumbling across someone who had actually been through the whole thing._

"_I believe it whole heartedly," Fratley commented after a string of ignorant comments by the knight._

"_Is that so?" He questioned, glancing at the Bermecian._

"_I had a few fellow knights try to find a place to hide. When Kuja first ambushed Cleyra I was there –"_

"_Why were you in Cleyra?" Steiner asked, confused. Fratley _never_ left the king's side according to Freya._

"_Well you see…" He blushed – something the man was unaware Bermecians could do. Now he had Steiner's undivided attention. "I was buying Freya a ring."_

"_A ring?" Steiner was astonished. Here was this private couple from Bermecia, who didn't show their feelings towards anyone but each other, and who accordingly put their duty in front of their relationship, the man in the relationship wishing to propose._

"_That's not really the point, Steiner…" He spoke wisely but gently, and the man suddenly felt as though he was being too gossipy. He laughed out a sorry and let him continue his original story._

"_No one knew where to turn… Cleyra was highly devastated, but most were too full of pride to retreat to Bermecia where they had extra defense. They fled else where in the world, and most of the Cleyra Bermecians were wiped out. Fortunately, I managed to lead a small band back to my home. They were all welcomed in after the tragedy struck their brothers and sisters…_

"_But some were not satisfied. They asked, though I had been gracious to them – had the whole city, if they could leave. I offered to help them venture to a place they would be comfortable. We crossed the only mountain pass still out of Kuja's control. The grotto south of my city – and stumbled upon Qu's marsh…"_

_Steiner glanced ahead to Quina who was quiet. He assumed that the Qu was also listening to the story – though not commenting on any of it. The knight knew he didn't remark on much._

"_Soon enough we stumbled upon this building. It was old, and I advised them not to go inside – especially considering what they had just gone through in their own city. But they were grieving, and striving to get away, so they went inside after they said good-bye to me, saying they could take it from there… I headed back to Bermecia, and I never heard from them again."_

"_You definitely have your way with ghost stories…" Steiner teased. He was a lot less tense with everyone thinking he was dead, and with an older mature person to converse with that wasn't hot headed, and that he wasn't in love with. AKA: not talking with either Baku or Beatrix. Cid didn't count – the times he'd tried to have a heart to heart conversation with him, he simply laughed and made jokes of it. He fumed later when he found out that it was Beatrix he had the serious talks with._

"_Either they made their way out, or died trying… I just wonder where this will take us…"_

"_Take us to Outer Continent," Quina beamed at being oh-so-smart._

"_What?" Fratley and Steiner spoke together, quite shocked the Qu knew so much._

"_Outer Continent, and we go to Conde Petie! We says rally-ho, and get in! Quina sneak out at night and find Zidane and yummy treats!"_

"_We should make haste…" Fratley decided. "Let's move through the knight – we'll camp out again before we go into Fossil Roo."_

_Steiner nodded, and they continued going, eating while they walked, talking with each other about nothing in particular to stay awake._

_After a long night, they had made it into the Bermecian's home country, and into the marsh. Steiner was long past his limit, and even the ever-stamina filled Bermecian was close to his time to rest. Quina bounded happily through the marsh, leading them to a shack of some sort. Immediately, they were greeted by Quina's master chef and welcomed inside._

_A feast was set out for them in an instant, and though all of the food looked peculiar, the two foreigners to the marsh dug in with as many manners as their tired minds could muster._

_After a long feast, they settled down and fell asleep in the house, listening to Quina quietly converse with the owner of the house._

"_Quina really going through Fossil Roo?" Quale spoke lowly, almost ominously._

"_Quina must find yummy treats and friends left behind for fish!" Quale chuckled affectionately._

"_Make haste, Quina…" He nodded wisely, and handed him a golden fork – the younger Qu's eyes widened as he gasped dramatically, "This will make good use for you, yes?" He beamed as the giant fork was taken by the youngster._

"_Thank Master Quale!"_

"_Quan would want you to have it…" He nodded._

_In the midst of sleep, hearing that name caused Steiner to jolt a little. He was dazed. _Quan?_ His mind wondered, _where have I heard that name before?_ Before he could find an answer though, a slight image of Vivi entered his mind before he was drifted off into sleep, the evidence of who might be most convenience by hearing that name again slowly slipping from his grasp._

_?_

_The next day marked their journey into Fossil Roo. They wondered slightly – both Fratley and Steiner – if they would make it through the treacherous place with their lives, and every limb still intact, but Quina assured them, and told them not to worry._

_When the entered the old building and evaded any sort of trap that lead to the opening, they saw one man too afraid to move any further. He was a merchant – carrying things like food, weapons, fresh water, armor, and an assortment of other things._

_Steiner proposed the deal that if he went with them to Madain Sari to give their 'group' supplies, he would assure safety through the passage. The frightened man complied without much hesitation, and they were off._

_Water trickled in every direction, stirring up mind tricks and _'no this way, not that way' _from almost every member of the group. When the time arose to stop, all of them, even Quina, were too frightened to rest, and kept going, deeper into the underground tunnel._

_The gargant was amazingly easy to ride on, even though Quina had some difficulty holding on – but with the help of the merchant, they figured out that the flowers are what lead the gargant around, and switched caused water to rush in, or suddenly drain from areas._

_Luckily, their trip caused no disturbance, or problem to any enemies, or themselves. Breathing a sigh of relief, Steiner saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and they all herded towards it like insects to a light bulb._

_When they broke into the dusty sand of the Outer Continent, their eyes were blinded, and immediately they became hot. Though, nevertheless, grins were upon each member's face as they whooped – they were out after a couple of days._

_Their trip persisted with no more problems, up until no people of Conde Petie knew where the resistance members had gone. As if by chance, they stumbled upon Baku, who still stood in the same exact spot on the path he was supposed to meet everyone. He had a black eye, and was especially crabby, but otherwise alright._

_He explained, after a gleeful reunion with Steiner, how he was ambushed and beaten to unconsciousness by a group of Kuja's soldiers, and not too long afterward, he had heard the group consisting of Zidane, Vivi, Freya, Beatrix, Dagger, and a few other key members to the group were kidnapped, Steiner went on an outrage._

_Immediately, he came up with an escape plan, and they were on their way. They told Baku to report to Cid and tell them just who he had found, and Baku gave them the advice that they would most likely not find the small group who was kidnapped. Fratley decided that they would be okay, and they moved forward._

"_I must thank you for your assistance… I shall supply the resistance with whatever they need as long as they stay close to Conde Petie…" He grinned and handed Steiner something wrapped in a cloth, "I hope this aids you in finding the Princess –" they seemed shocked that he knew, "Word travels quickly my friends… Make haste, and please do let me know when you return…" He nodded as Steiner and Fratley headed out._

"_Do you think we will find them?" Steiner asked Fratley as he opened the cloth._

_Both of their eyes widened when they saw the pendant, "With this, yes we will…"_

_?_

**A/N: Well you'll see what that pendant is next chapter, but I thought you'd all like to know what Steiner was up to, and how that all happened. I know the ending might seem rushed, but I didn't think you all cared about Fossil Roo and such lol so :)**

**I hope you enjoyed! Please review!**

**-zesty-**


	34. Chapter 33: Fever

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**A/N: I'm so sorry about the late late update! I know again, I have no excuse... But, I have no internet on the computer I write on, so USB's are such a hassle to use and put it on one computer, and take it from another and ugh :) bear with me!  
**

**Chapter 33: Fever**

Zidane watched the apparently rare rain fall down on the patches of grass. It wasn't quite Dali… nor was it the Alexandria he still yearned for. For the most part, he had thrown it from his mind to let his displeasure show of not knowing where all those people went… where his friends had gone…

After he had single handedly been the reason Dali was off the map, they were found out and forced from their home, and so many deaths, he refused to believe that he could possibly get back there. This time, it would entail stealing the airship… He couldn't do that – not after the damage he had caused.

Their once organized resistance, with statuses and guard duties, training, and working as a team all seemed to crumble now. He watched a fair group of people trying to dig a hole – mostly the ones who had lost someone dear – who wished to go back to simpler times.

Their recent escape had been an epic, but highly unknown one. No one would really speak about it with the resistance members – though everyone was warned through meeting and assembly, and quite a bit of gossip, that someone was on their trail. They needed to move.

Zidane laid back, feeling the wet grass tickle his neck. The rain pecked him in the face, causing him to blink every time a drop ricocheted off his skin. Now that there was time to think about things, he really was going back to how everything had began. No, it wasn't with him waking up from a false world, or even with him being reunited with the Tantalus crew… It was something further than that.

A memory… A horrid memory he had had – in the dream or real world – he couldn't remember… Perhaps he had re-experienced the memory more than once. The voice was so tiny – so defiant, yet so obviously scared… The blood shed, the sword, and the love in the woman's eyes before she was struck down. A gory death awaiting both who tried to protect the young boy.

The soldier and the fear he had felt, the bile that had piled in his throat after realizing what had happened… They had called for Zidane, but these people he still didn't know.

At that moment, a presence collapsed in the grass next to him, and he looked lazily over at Vivi, who mimicked his movements, and was watching the rain as well.

"Hey…" he spoke lightly to the young mage.

"Hi Zidane." He immediately could tell there was something bothering the mage.

"What's wrong, Vivi?"

"Things are quiet now…" He sighed and glanced at the blonde, before focusing on the sky once more. Somehow the colors were still beautiful, even with clouds rolling over the fresh air.

"So they are…" The Genome really had nothing to say to the younger mage – the sorrow that surrounded them was suffocating the advice out of him.

"What do you think happened to them?" Vivi asked quietly, as though he were afraid of someone hearing him.

The wind wavered the grass around them as Zidane closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of moist soil – probably from the people trying to dig themselves a hideout once more.

"Who?" Though he knew the answer to his own question.

The mage wrung his hands in front of his stomach, the gloves squeaking – they were probably soaking wet. "The Dreamers…" Vivi offered shyly.

Zidane's face screwed into a distorted and unreadable expression. The taste of disgust in himself for not being able to save anymore of them filled in his mouth, as he turned to his side to spit. After that it was silent – Vivi received his answer without words.

"Do you think I'll ever see my grandpa again?"

The question was so small and sad, it almost broke Zidane's heart. Though his confidence had been built and shattered so many times since he awoke in this new world, he still didn't have the mind set to realize it would build itself back up again. But at that comment, it started to mend.

"Ill get you back there, Vivi… No matter what happens – I promise I'll take you back."

Vivi smiled and sat up, along with the Genome, "Thank you…" He stood them, unstable on his feet, and wobbled off. Zidane fell back into the soft grass with a tiny 'oof' sound, diving back into his thoughts on these unknown people…

?

"This cannot keep happening!" Steiner persisted, "That's two attacks! Two attacks in the last five months than there has since this resistance was started!"

"Steiner –" Beatrix tried to calm him down.

"No!" He almost roared, everyone else waiting in the meeting for him to finish, "It is my duty to protect the Princess – my duty to protect these people, and none of us are doing a good job!" He barked.

"Steiner!" This time, Beatrix hissed, leaning against the counter with a glower up on her face, "That's enough – stop being immature."

"It's the damn dreamers… Why can't we just give them up?" Everyone turned to a voice that they hadn't heard in such a long time. His bitterness had been growing with every moment since Zidane and Vivi had first joined them. His dark hair was gelled back from his face, his eyes hard, "First I've lost my arm, and now we're losing members!" He scoffed.

"If you don't like it," Blank started coldly, irritated with this guy always interrupting something important, "_Leave_. You can't do much with one hand…"

Everyone glanced at Blank, almost warning him not to say much more. The man steamed, his whole face scarlet with rage. "I can do anything you can do – even what you _can't _do!" He roared, jumping up, along with the redhead.

Blank wanted to taunt, despite Dagger and Beatrix's warnings to simply sit down, "You can huh? Then _clap_!"

The outburst of fury caused the man to lash out and throw a chair at the redhead, who deflected the slow moving piece of furniture easily, though it fell on the floor with a clash and snapped into two.

"We have limited furniture!" The chestnut haired woman was yelling out as everyone began to fight.

"This place is disgusting! I want to go back to Dali! We'll help rebuild!"

"Fuck you Rendell! Why can't you and your non-existant arm just go away!"

"Rendell is right! They've caused so much drama!"

"Why can't we all just stop arguing?" This question was spoken loudly, the petite girl standing on the table and stomping her foot, "This is a time we need to be together!" Dagger yelled at all of them, "And we are the most broken resistance ever! If we ever want to win this war – especially now – we need to stop arguing!"

Rendell snorted and stalked out of the room, Darious close behind him.

Everyone settled down for a moment, Ruby innocently dropped the small dwarf she had picked up in rage, Blank trying to stick the chair back together, and Steiner putting his large sword away behind his back.

"Dagger is right…" Cid nodded solemnly, "We need to begin with a plan…" He waved a letter in the air, "I've received word from the moogles in Treno…" He sighed, "Before, Kuja did not enforce his laws – we are lucky… His laws of needing papers and such to get into cities was not enforced before we got to Conde Petie. The result of us on the move has caused him to enforce these laws now – Conde Petie we are going to get supplies from still yes, but unfortunately we cannot go in and out as we please – we must be careful… I do not believe that we can stay on the Outer Continent unless we find a different place to go… As we find a place to settle, we must – and I stress that we _must_ start coming up with training methods and plans – Kuja must go down before he engulfs the whole world."

Everyone was silent – on the edge of their seat, waiting for him to say more. Steiner leaned forward, on the verge of rallying the troops right now, and heading straight for Alexandria.

"My friends – my brothers and sisters – our preparation for so many years has finally begun drawing to an end… We must act now… For the loss of my kingdom, Bermecia, and Garnet's kingdom – we must fight… Rallying the world to help us is the only way that we can win this war…"

"But how do we rally the world when everyone is oceans apart?" Freya almost pleaded – wanting so desperately for a plan that will work.

Cid took in a deep breath, and a grin played out on his face – one they had not seen in such a long time, "My friends, I am going to construct an airship!" The glee in his voice forced everyone to break out into smiles.

"How the fuck is that going to work?" Baku yelled out, throwing his fist in the air, "We can't just get whatever we want!"

"We need a decoy… To obtain a ship of Kuja's…"

"What?" Someone gasped, "You want to toy with that idea already?" It was an elf – who was ever weary about distracting themselves with decoys. His watery colored eyes glanced at Cid with hope, but also despair – there was no way this could work.

"Though I know only a few select people have ever been there, I was hoping perhaps that a group could go to Terra…"

"Terra?" Blank gasped, glancing around, wondering if Zidane was in the meeting or not.

"This group would ultimately include Zidane and whoever else I think fit best to go with him… We'll keep one dreamer here, and send the other out – I believe this is the way to score Kuja's ship… While the group is getting the ship, we relocate to somewhere safer for the time being…"

"That's so crazy…" Marcus shook his head, his pointed ears moving back and forth with his head, but soon a smirk showing his pearly teeth took over his features.

"It might actually work!" Cinna yelped in joy.

The Tantalus crew seemed to rather like the idea, and all whooped with joy, "Cid you're one crazy man!" Baku praised – kind of – as he laughed along with his team. "We'd be honored to escort Zidane!"

Cid's smile was one of true fondness for the determination of the ever-fun Tantalus group, "You shall disguise yourselves, once more, as stage actors… Your first mission as a group once more…" He turned to Blank, "You are not officially with the Tantalus crew anymore, I know… But…" He nodded, knowing the redhead would love this opportunity, "If you'll do the honors –"

Immediately he vigorously nodded, "Yes! Definitely!" He fist pumped the air and Cinna picked him up in a hug.

"Finally! We're on the move again!" Marcus laughed, "Let's go find Zidane!" Everyone raised off except for Baku, who decided to stick around for the rest of the meeting.

Dagger bit her lip. She still wasn't speaking with Zidane, but with how rowdy that group was, she wondered if they would be okay. "Is that such a good idea, Cid?" She questioned, tilting her head to the side.

"It's the only choice we have, Dagger…" He nodded, "I didn't want to have to split our numbers even more, but I need help here in order to get another airship started… By the time they come back, I'll have one and maybe half of a second one started, I just will need most of the members' help."

"But –"

"It's a good plan, Dagger…" Beatrix nodded, agreeing with Cid full-heartedly, "They'll be alright…"

"You shall leave in the morning," He nodded to Baku, "I would go prepare, and get some well-earned rest."

The man nodded gruffly and slowly ran off, tripping every once in a while before he disappeared from sight.

"This leads me…" he took in a deep breath, "To also welcome the two new members to the resistant – in much happier times… Amarant Coral, and Eiko Carol. Amarant helped our members escape the clutches of Kuja's northern army, and Eiko helped us along our way in Madain Sari, with her she brings Mog…" Everyone was delighted to see two new faces, plus a moogle, and wanted to make them feel at home as soon as possible.

A woman in her late forties came forward with a bag of supplies for both of them to begin with. Each contained a blanket, and some spare clothing and belongings for them to feel at home. Each thanked the woman and the whole resistance and allowed Cid to continue with the meeting.

"Now! I want to assign some groups! It's going to be difficult at first, but I promise that we're going to figure things out! We are too close to Kuja's Northern Army for comfort, and that's why I want to move. Eiko, do you know of anywhere else in your discoveries of the Outer Continent that could help us…?"

"I know that there's a forest somewhere south of here – much south actually, but in order to access it you have to hit north first… I'm not sure if it's already occupied or not, but that would probably be the safest place for us to go!"

"Good! After Tantalus leaves tomorrow, we'll head that way, but I want it to be slow going! I'm going to create teams to get our jobs done efficiently and with haste." Cid slowly began panning out groups to cover plenty of jobs for everyone.

Though it was a big responsibility for the two, they were the most familiar with the outer continent – Amarant was put in charge of the scouting party, and Eiko was his right hand. They had eight others with them in the group to find a perfect place for the new resistance headquarters far enough away from any Kuja soldiers.

Quina was in charge of meals and scavenging for food. He had Mog every so often with him, and twenty other people to help him with this job.

Vivi was amazingly in charge of teaching those capable to further their black magic skills, or in fact, any magic skills at all. He was nervous, because he was leading the team by himself, but at least there were only a few who could wield these powers. They would be with him whenever they weren't assigned to other groups.

Freya was going to teach people how to heal. She wasn't the best at it, but she could treat some wounds, and was going to make sure everyone knew – even the youngest members – how to deal with broken bones, fatal injuries and what not, and possibly even learn a very mild blue magic spell (it wouldn't work for all of them), and she was going to be in charge of making all the potions and everything else that came with it – she would have four others to help her do that.

Cid would be leading the airship crew. They were going to work hard and fast on making airships, as they were the prime travel in order to get followers to help them with Kuja. He would lead a team of ninety to help him scavenge for parts and materials, and to actually help him put the whole thing together.

Steiner and Beatrix were in charge of getting everyone trained up. Almost everyone knew how to fight, but in order to win such a war, they were going to need to know how to take on multiple enemies at once, and know the small tricks that come with things. The people they trained would be with them whenever there was a lapse in whatever their own group was doing.

There were other groups, involving people to make clothing, and run errands back and forth from Conde Petie – the really sneaky people. Dagger jumped around from Vivi's group, to Freya's group, to training with Steiner and Beatrix, but she was never _ever_ allowed to go scouting. In fact, she was hardly let anywhere alone – the security on her needed to be higher when they were at a dangerous spot in their mission.

The remaining people who didn't occasionally help with the other groups, were left to gather material and such for shelter. They weren't ready to build yet, but they figured having it with them would sincerely help when they finally picked a spot to be comfortable.

That was about the whole resistance then, and they were set to start their quest – Cid just prayed nothing went wrong…

?

"Are you nervous?" Blank asked, glancing at the blonde standing next to him, still soaking wet from the rain.

He shook his head, but was silent.

"You've got that Alexandria stuff bothering you again, don't you?"

Zidane glanced at his best friend with surprise, "How did you know?"

"Don't you remember – one of the first days I had you back and we were sparring in the meadow in Dali, I told you I began using my brain in the five years you were gone. Besides, I think going back to Terra has you nervous."

"You know… The Dreamer thing is always going to bother me… and truth be told – I am nervous going back to Terra… I don't remember anything about it, but I do remember what to expect – and I'm honestly spooked about what I'm going to find. On top of that… I think I've connected the dots about something I didn't remember before."

"Huh?" Blank asked, his unseen emerald eyes blaring with curiosity.

"One of the dreams – or flashbacks of my life before I was captured… A man and a woman being slaughtered right in front of me – she called me Zidane… Blank, I think that was my parents."

The redhead's eyes widened – not even before had he ever heard of the blonde's parents, except in passing when they first met that meant that they had died due to Kuja's wrath.

"What?"

"I know…" He nodded, "I want to find some stuff out – Blank… I know you aren't going to like it, but I have a crazy idea again…"

"Oh no…" He glanced at the blonde, but when he saw the smirk, he couldn't help but have a smirk on his own face too.

?

**A/N: Well so you didn't find out about the thing right away this chapter :) the pendant anyways, but I'm looking forward to starting this new part… I'm sick of everyone being depressed. **

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this :D Please review! The plot is going to pick up again!**

**-zesty-**


	35. Chapter 34: Absence

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy Nine or any of its characters.**

**A/N: I just got fake nails put on, so I apologize for any mistakes that I don't catch. Also, you all remember where I've placed Terra I hope. Over on the upper left hand side of the map, right next to the Lost Continent – where Shimmering Island should be.**

**Question: Is it the Lifa tree, or the Iifa tree? Lol I could never figure that out :)**

**Chapter 34: Absence**

Zidane stood against the rising sun. He watched the shadows slowly get shorter and fatter, contrasting to their now long and strung out voids of darkness. The temperature was already rising, and everything looked a little healthier from the rain.

His breath was slow and steady, but it wavered on intake – he was nervous to leave. This was his first mission without highly trained knights – just his group of friends he used to roughhouse with. There was no doubt in his mind that they were good, but the comfort of having people more skilled than him on a team – with different attributes, styles, and aid against an enemy. But now, it was the same skill level, and same style – he wondered, because he couldn't remember completely, how well they would do in battle together.

He was the first to awaken – not even Beatrix or Steiner had rose yet… It was amazing to think that his nerves could make him such an early riser. Then again, the two were probably exhausted. His thoughts fell upon everyone in the resistance, and he realized he wouldn't be seeing them for a long time… By the time the Tantalus crew returned, everyone would be beyond average skill level, a new headquarters would be built, and once again things would probably even be livable and comfortable.

Then his thoughts fell on Dagger. It pained him to know he had to leave without even a good-bye. What if something were to happen. He sighed – there was nothing between them anymore – Dagger would make sure of that. It had been a long while since he'd even last spoken to the girl, and he wondered vaguely if they could ever be friends again.

It surprised him how much he had hurt her. Though he knew she understood why he did it – it didn't help the pain of watching the first person she had let in – the first person that didn't treat her like family, betray her like that.

He shook his head of these thoughts – he didn't need _that_ weighing down his conscience. There was already too much on his mind as it was…

?

Blank awoke at a soft knock on the pole of his tent. He groggily stumbled around, accidentally tipping a few things over, and stepping on his knife, but when he pulled the flap open, he was surprised to see Dagger in front of it, nervous.

"Dagger?" He mumbled softly.

"Can I uh… Come in?" She asked, feeling awkward at the question.

He smirked in her direction and backed up. He was accustomed to sleeping in his armor now – he actually always had been.

She moved inside and held her hands in front of her waist – something she did out of habit when she was guilty.

"What's up?" He questioned, flopping back down on – how she ever wondered he could believe so – a comfortable blanket.

"What do I do about Zidane?" She sighed – knowing that if she didn't bring it up now, she'd never have the chance to talk to him before he left, and it could be a very long time before they got back.

"Well…" He didn't have to think about what she should do much – but he wanted to humor her. "I know what he did was wrong, but… Dagger, my arm or a kiss… You know he didn't mean anything by it – but you know how Zidane is… It tears him apart if he could prevent pain for people and doesn't."

"I know that I am being rather selfish right now…" She began, suddenly feeling uncomfortable and anxious, "but, what about my pain?"

"Maybe it's something he thought he could fix?" Blank didn't have an answer, but he knew one hundred percent that the blonde wouldn't do anything to hurt her intentionally.

She turned and watched the tent waver in the light breeze. Her hand trailed across the pole, her fingers making a wisping noise as she allowed her hand to drop. The silence that engulfed them was a calm one – they weren't fidgeting, proving it was a relaxed quiet.

"Okay…" She said finally, "Thank you…" She flashed a smile at him, and turned on her heel, in an attempt to beeline out of the tent – obviously Blank didn't provide much help, or she had a sudden realization about things.

He watched her hair spin around her and her hands move swiftly to the flap to open it. A spray of sunlight splashed over him – he knew he should get up.

?

"It's going to be dangerous, you know…" The man informed the larger man.

"Hell if I'm going to let that stop me!"

"I've always admired the courage that comes along with your crew, you've taught them all well."

They walked along the outside of all the tents slowly, as though waiting for something more to happen. The activities would start again after he was gone. "It wasn't me really – according to them I'm a shitty teacher, but I do try my best to keep 'em in line!"

Steiner reframed from rolling his eyes. Baku's crew was the most disobedient group in the whole resistance. It had been proven countless times – even before Zidane had returned, or Blank left their group – that they were idiotic though gutsy for trying to pull things off the way they did.

They were unorganized and argumentive, but somehow they always came out on top. The knight never saw a day go by that one of them wasn't fighting with another, but in the end they always had each other's backs and that, Steiner believed, is why he truly respected them.

His heavy armor bore down on his shoulders, and sometime, he would have to remove it for a break. His charcoal eyes glanced at Baku – the man didn't envy much about the Tantalus leader – with his big ears, weird beard, and large gut, but the leather armor was something Steiner could never get used to, no matter how hard he wished he could.

"Do you think you're going to lose someone when you're in Terra?" He questioned, almost afraid of Baku's answer.

The leader was very honest, and both him and Steiner knew the risks of this mission – especially having Zidane there. Of course this was going to work to their advantage, but it could also work in a very negative way as well. There could be too many people, and no way of calling for reinforcements.

"Don't say a thing to anyone, Steiner…" Baku sighed and drew his fingers down his beard, reshaping it in all its silliness. "I don't believe all of us will come back…"

Steiner was surprised. Actually, he was beyond surprised – he was shocked. Gaping and unbelieving, the only word that stumbled out of his stuttering lips was, _"Who?"_

"Zidane…"

Steiner straightened up and set his jaw. The kid made many mistakes, and let's just say Steiner was more fond of others than he was the Genome, but the boy had potential. He was stronger than most, and knew the ins and outs of the battle. Plus, he always had everyone's back and Dagger – oh Dagger – she would be heartbroken. As much as the knight hated to admit it, the young Princess needed him more than anyone else in the resistance…

"He doesn't understand just how much Kuja wants him back. Using him as a decoy is ample opportunity to get what we want when we want it – unfortunately Zidane doesn't understand the risks – nobody but perhaps myself and Cinna do…"

"Cinna?" The knight's eyebrows shot up in shock.

"Yeah. The guy approached me about this as soon as we had our mission assigned to us – and I agree with him… Everyone still thinks of that damn monkey as they did before he became important and rare. They still believe they're all on equal terms, they all believe Marcus is still the strongest, and that Blank will never get taller… It's like nothing ever changed, and that's what concerns me. Of course, there's no telling them, and the dumb shits wouldn't care either way…" Baku shrugged, "There's nothing I can do about it."

Steiner bit his lip, still wrapped up in the fact that no matter how long this mission took – or how much training they had before hand, this mission could fail miserably – at the cost of some of their most talented members. But of course, he wouldn't say a thing – Baku didn't want it, and Steiner knew the Tantalus crew was the best for the job. He only nodded, "If you'll excuse me, Baku, I must go."

"Don't tell nobody…"

"Not directly anyways…" He walked away, intending to find Dagger before Zidane left.

?

A pair of chocolate eyes watched the movement below her. Perched upon a hill, she leaned against the tree, her porcelain face having a certain glow around it. To anyone who didn't know her, she was strong and confident – a leader in the making. To Steiner, she was worried and hesitant at the moment.

"Dagger…" He puffed, finally reaching the top of the hill. "What are you doing up here alone?"

"I just needed some time to think about some things… I'm sorry…" Though it didn't meet her eyes as she watched the blonde below wrap his tail around Marcus so he couldn't move and drop kick him – causing him to drop his finally dry shirt onto the still wet grass.

The pointy eared teammate spun around towards the blonde, punched him, and grabbed his tail, spinning him around until they were both dizzy, fallen, and laughing – all completely wet.

"About Zidane?" He guessed – she stared at him in amazement, as she had ever since she was a little girl; the raven haired girl never understood quite how he could do it.

"I don't know what to do…" She sighed and looked away, watching a bee fly from a flower, and she moved her hand away, "I know what you'll tell me…" She began, though trailed again, the wind whisking away her voice.

"Dagger… I know you know that I do not have any liking in Zidane… But I know the way that he looks at you – I know the way that you look at him –" When she tried to protest he simply put up a hand, "He's going to be put in a very dangerous situation… And, as much as I hate to admit it, the kid knows how to protect people, and sacrifice is part of that protection… There's a good possibility he just might not come back."

Hearing this was a high shock. She opened her mouth to speak, then shut it quietly again, and repeated the process. Her goldfish like features only made Steiner grimmer about revealing this to her. The thought of Zidane dying to protect another was already a thought in everyone's mind, but it was the same as everyone else. She would give her life to protect anyone else in the resistance, and she knew they would do the same for everyone else as well… But hearing those words come from Steiner's mouth – it all became surreal.

Quite frankly, that scared her.

She knew she had a choice to make, and she understood just how important it was that she do the right thing as she watched Steiner slowly make his way back down the hill. Closing her eyes she leaned back, before the start of an airship made her jump. It was time for them to get serious about leaving.

Leaping to her feet, she burst down the hill, her breath coming in short bursts out of her as she ran – She needed to reach Zidane before he boarded that ship.

? _meanwhile _?

Vivi walked over to Zidane – his shy manner shining through easily. The blonde smiled brightly at him as he approached.

"Hey Vivi!" He waved, and bent down so he was level with the mage.

"Hi Zidane…" The voice held unwavering sadness, and it slightly unnerved Zidane, causing his brow to crease in concern.

"What's up?"

"I just came to say good-bye…" He mumbled, "And ask you a question."

"Shoot!" The blonde tried being as friendly as possible, but the truth was that he couldn't quite pin what was bothering the mage, and that in turn, bothered him.

"What do I do here all alone?" He asked helplessly, peering up at the older teen.

"What do you mean all alone?" Zidane laughed, "You've got Dagger and Beatrix and –"

"You're the only one who really understands what I'm going through… You have friends in this resistance that you knew before you got captured, and I have nobody… I'm suppose to train people, when I'm not even sure of myself… I'm supposed to be strong for a cause I don't even understand, and I'm trying to fight for memories that won't come back to me. I don't know what to do, Zidane, because whenever you're here, I feel a little better, but when you're not, I'm just some partially useful black mage who went faulty and couldn't be used by Kuja anymore!"

It was more than he had ever heard Vivi say in his entire life. The mage was normally so quiet, and so reserved, that Zidane thought the mage was indeed getting more confident. He was of course, this was true, but not having Zidane around – the one he could count on, even when they didn't know each other – way back in the alley – it was a scary thought.

The blonde blinked his sapphire eyes. He truly didn't know what to say to Vivi's speech. He only patted the mage's shoulder, and smirked, "Vivi…" His thoughts tried to improvise and sound sincere as they left his lips, "You're going to do great here, and I'll be back," He beamed at this, "And when I get back, you're going to have trained everyone, and who knows – maybe it'll be _me_ needing _you_." He seemed to be flustered by that comment.

Hugging the blonde, Vivi mumbled a thank you and quickly pulled back. Zidane smiled fondly, "Good luck…"

"You too…" the short mage nodded, and turned to walk away.

"Zidane! We're leaving!" Marcus' deep voice called out from the ship entrance.

"Okay, okay…" He waved a hand, and taking one last look at a small beauty in the barren wasteland of this continent, he turned to leave.

Walking a few feet, he stretched, and was about to break into a run up the ramp to board the ship when he heard a shrill voice behind him.

"Stop!" It demanded, though one couldn't take it very seriously, being a high soprano, and uncertainty filling its tone.

He turned around, only to get barged into by Dagger, she clung to his body like her life depended on it.

They stayed liked this for a while, and finally, Zidane hugged the girl back, though he was still highly confused. "Dagger?" He finally breathed out the question.

She thought about how different things would be without him here now. She wondered if she'd still laugh and fool around with people – of course it wasn't as though she would be miserable, but the sheer fact that Zidane had been in her life for so many months, and making such an impact, that she questioned how stable she would be in battle and training when her thoughts would revolve around him.

"I'm so sorry!" She squeezed him tighter, afraid of letting him go, "I didn't want you to leave before I talked to you… I'm so sorry I was angry I –"

Before she could speak anymore, he wiggled backwards, and bent forward, crushing his lips onto hers. That was it. The public display of affection for, if not a lot, at least a few of the resistance members to see.

What was left of the Tantalus crew off the ship around them cheered, she could feel a certain gaping stare into her and the boy in front of her by Steiner, but she knew Beatrix would be grinning somewhere near by. She knew there were others around, but she for once, didn't care what they would say when he was gone… She'd have to explain and suffer through that, but it was something she was willing to do.

When he finally pulled back from her, she looked up at him with watery chocolate eyes. "Come back safely, please…" She whispered to him, and he smiled.

"Of course I'm going to come back. I promise…" He laughed and ruffled her raven hair.

When he turned to leave, she caught his hand, studying him when he turned around. Seeing the garnet still hanging from his neck, she held hers up as well, "Remember to bring it back to me."

He nodded, "Always will…" With that he boarded the ship, not turning back.

As the ship took off, she stared after it, running as quickly as she could to try and keep up with it, before it wasn't in sight anymore. She bit her lip and watched him go, clutching the garnet around her neck, wondering if he would do the same.

?

**A/N: So I know I guess that was a little weak, but I enjoyed writing it :) they couldn't have some dramatic moment that lasted over a page – cause they're waiting on Zidane to leave… Plus, her having her last, brief words with him, makes it all the more bitter. **

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review!**

**-zesty-**


	36. Chapter 35: On Our Way

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**A/N: I'm very sad because no one is reviewing anymore :( I'm actually keeping up to date, and things are actually picking up, and no one wants to review. I'm very sad… When I get at least 2 reviews I'll update again :)**

**Chapter 35: On Our Way**

"Come here you dumb asses so we can go over the plan again!" Baku barked the orders, and yet he saw his entire crew still chasing each other around with the canned cheese they found in Conde Petie.

Zidane defended himself with his tail – a long reach, and an easy spray to Marcus' face, who was otherwise too tall to get. That's when a shorter Blank knows he should ally himself with the hostile man, and jump on his shoulders to become invincible. Cinna was too fat to catch anyone, so he sprayed it on his hand and catapulted it across the room. Even Zenero was helping, spraying cheese on Marcus and Blank's backs when they least expected it.

The saddest part of this whole thing, was that Ruby sat at the other end of the large, wooden room, filing down her nails, as though she was too _good_ to play with the rest of the crew. Baku smirked, screw plans… Why not have some fun…

He motioned to Marcus who threw him a can of cheese, and ever so slowly, he stalked over to an unsuspecting Ruby. When she finally looked up, she caught the scent, taste, and feel of the canned cheese. The substance muffled her scream as the others ran over to join in.

Finally they got Ruby to go kick ass, and she slammed her foot up in between Baku's crotch, causing him to stumble sideways and bowl everyone over. They all burst out laughing, besides their captain, who spewed curses as loud as he could. She glared, and wiped all of the cheese from her face, spatting it from her hand onto Blank.

"You of all people!" She huffed, stomping away.

That sent everyone into a new spout of howls, though this time it was Blank who sat up and crossed his arms to pout. "I didn't even start it and she's mad at me!"

"Maybe you should go help her clean up," Cinna nudged him in the arm, "I think she might shower!" Blank's face went beat red and again, the whole crew burst into hoots.

"She might even let you –" Marcus started with a nasty grin.

Blank slapped a hand over his mouth, "You utter one more word, this dagger –" he unsheathed his dagger and let it gleam in front of his team mate's eyes, "- will be shoved so far _up your ass_ you won't be able to shit for three weeks!"

"That'll hurt to shit out!" Cinna laughed – this time, neither Marcus or Blank were laughing, while Zidane and the fat navigator rolled on the floor, tears in their eyes.

"At least I _can_ get some…" Blank shot defensively, causing Cinna to stop dead in his tracks. Marcus, Zidane, and even _Baku_ began to laugh all over again.

"I had a girlfriend once upon a time!" Cinna glared.

Zidane perked up, "What? He did?"

"It was a couple years ago," Marcus chuckled, "Cinna, she was blind… She couldn't see you!"

The blonde gaped, not really believing what he just heard, "What?" He snorted.

"It _means_ I have a good personality!" He smirked a little, and smoothed out his clothing to act a smidge cooler.

"It means she musta been deaf too…" Blank sighed, getting up, and helping up the blonde. Baku staggered back over to the wheel and took it from Zenero while Cinna still sat upon the floor, absolutely shocked that someone could say such a thing about him.

"Now, since all of that _fun_ is over, come here so we can look at the plan!" Baku barked, and everyone slowly made their way over.

"Who needs plans?" Marcus snorted, "Isn't improvising kind of our thing?"

"Nothing ever goes according to plan anyway," Blank stated bitterly, sitting in a chair and leaning back, "It hasn't ever since I've joined Tantalus."

"Can you just shut up and listen?" He glanced up, "Cinna get your big ass over here!"

That earned snickers from the rest of the crew, while the tanned thief grumbled and walked over. "Damn you all…" He growled, but everyone ignored him.

"Alright…" He pulled out his miniature castle.

"That's Alexandria…" Marcus pointed out, "We used that on the last mission."

"Well it's going to be Terra now, so shut up."

"You were too cheap to get a new one?" Cinna asked, disgusted.

"Like we've been anywhere that I could!" Baku yelled, "Just listen to the God damn plan!" He ordered, slapping himself in the face.

The young team glanced at each other and shrugged, gracing their leader with silence. The ship creaked, and they could hear the waves far below them ever so faintly. There must have been a storm coming – otherwise there wouldn't be a chance to hear the water, even if they were flying extremely low. For now, everyone ignored it.

Baku put his finger on part of the castle, "Okay. When we get to Terra, already we're going to be suspicious. God knows that Kuja is going to have his freaky guards _everywhere_, and we obviously do not want that. Act cool, and actually act like we're doing a play. Don't just sit and throw cheese at everyone like you were doing before."

Blank glared at the castle, suddenly sort of angry. They hadn't been here in absolute _years_, and now when they go back, they had to be undercover from the start. The last Tantalus mission he had gone on, they were able to move in and out of the city, and though questions had been shot at them, they were able to pass.

This time, they had to flat out lie, and he didn't like that. Sure, he was a thief, crafty, shady, and whatever else went along with being Blank. But he did know that, though it was the only way they could get _into_ Terra and go about their mission, he hated it – it shouldn't be that way…

"So we should be serious then, huh?" Zidane asked, leaning on the table, his chin in his hand, elbow on the wood.

"Yes…" Baku slapped his arm, "And you're blocking the other half of the castle!"

The blonde sat up straight, "Sorry," he grinned at his teammates, who once again snickered in return. "Someone's crabby…" He retorted, causing a high pitched giggle to escape Cinna's mouth.

Instead of replying, everyone stared at the navigator, who could only shrug and wave his hand in the air, "Continue… It won't happen again…"

"When we get into Terra, we're going to be performing _I Want to be Your Canary_."

"Uhh…" Cinna scratched his chin, "Shouldn't we do something a little easier? No offense, but Zidane hasn't acted with us in a while, and…" He trailed, glancing at the blonde.

The Genome thought about his dreams of this play, and the once-world he remembered so vividly. He remembered how he had written the whole thing down, and was going to become someone by passing it off as his own in a world that was no longer his. He recalled reciting it to Dagger, and the flashbacks of when he had gone with Blank to see it for the first time came fourth in his head… He definitely had the play memorized.

"Don't worry… I've got it down," Zidane promised with a defiant nod.

"See? The kid knows his shit," Baku smirked. "Anyways, once we get into Terra, we're going to start performing right away. And we're going to be one of those theater ships that seems to be there for three weeks plus."

"Three weeks?" Blank's eyes widened, though no one could see it. "That's one hell of a long time to put on a play!"

"It'll be only twice a week… So we, in theory, won't be acting a whole hell of a lot… Anyways, it'll be typical – like a show that makes sure everyone who wants to see it actually gets to see it. I promise that I'll make _sure_ it's sold out at least the first four times we do it…"

"How do you suppose you're going to pull that off?" Marcus questioned skeptically; he crossed his arms over his chest and glanced at the others. Cinna was scratching his stomach, and Zidane was flicking lint at Blank, sticking it to the cheese on his arm as he watched, oblivious to the doings of the blonde.

"I'll raise and lower the prices as need be. Not only am I a great actor, but I'm an excellent business man."

"What a surprise." Marcus rolled his eyes.

"Why do we need to be there for three weeks if we're just performing a play?" Blank asked, leaning forward in his chair. This caused Zidane to stop flicking fuzz and pay attention to the conversation.

"Our mission isn't to go to Terra, goof off, and sight-see… While we're there, we need to start rumors… gossip that spreads between people, which ultimately gets heard by Kuja's guards, and sent off the continent to the guy himself. We need him to take immediate action to get to Terra… Spreading the right words about resistance work (though definitely not _directly_ what it is) and about one dreamer being in Terra will send him _running_ over."

"How do you know he'll come personally?" Cinna stood and clasped his hands behind his back, walking around and staring at all the random paintings and accessories decorating the walls to make it more lively. "I mean, we have to look at it from a bad guy's perspective. Why would he come all the way over, if he doesn't have to, and can easily enough just have his guards do it?"

"Think about it…" Marcus spoke, before Baku could process an answer. "How many times has he been close to catching either Zidane or Vivi, and failed when they were almost in his grasp? He knows how good Zidane is, otherwise he wouldn't be after him…"

"And he must be swimming in agitation because he hasn't taken care of the resistance problem yet…" Blank nodded, shaking his finger in the air as the ideas dawned on him.

"Which would mean, Kuja would _have_ to take leadership, and actually do something for himself!" Zidane finished in a rather excited tone.

"Exactly what I was thinking!" Baku announced, pleased with himself, though he did absolutely nothing.

"If both a dreamer and hardcore resistance members are at stake, surely he'll come himself…" Marcus decided, settling back into his chair to get comfortable.

"I know it'll be tough for just us and the band to do, but we'll need to steal Kuja's ship… Now these rumors, though they'll spread at a moderately good rate, will take a very long time to build so high and so true (without being proven of course) that Kuja will have to come over in a heartbeat…"

"Is that why we're going to be performing so much?" Ruby asked, walking back into the room, completely cheese free.

He nodded.

"Wait… Hold on…" Blank stopped the whole conversation and stood, his small being almost quivering, "You want us to _steal_ _Kuja's ship?_"

"You were at the meeting," Baku shot back, "We need his ship to recruit people. Cid can't do all the work himself."

"I just find that far-fetched, I mean… we're going to need back up, otherwise Zidane's going to be killed. Or maybe even something worse!"

Everyone got quiet after that. Cinna and Baku exchanged quick, but multiple glances. The blonde was the first to pick up on it.

"I don't have any intentions of returning to the resistance, do I?" He asked bluntly, though cautiously. Again, he met silence.

"We wouldn't let you go, buddy!" Blank insisted, but still his voice met no reply, when he thought for sure, there'd be cheers of encouragement.

Marcus leaned forward in his seat, and after a long few minutes of absolute despair setting into the redhead he spoke, "So we gain a seventy-five percent advantage in this war, but at the price of someone we've just gotten back?"

That summed up their entire problem, causing the pain to be so obviously explained.

"I say we don't do it." Blank said simply, causing them all to look towards him.

"Blank –" Zidane began.

"_No_. I don't care about anyone else's opinion, but I'm _not_ going through this again!"

"Come on…" The blonde tried to coax his mood back in – keep the calm.

"I refuse to lose a teammate, a fighter, my _best friend_ to Kuja… for good this time. I'm not taking part in that again. I won't let it happen – I will blow our cover all at once to make sure he does not die."

"Don't be rash… It's me or a whole civilization, Blank… It's me or everything you all have worked for, for _years_."

"A life is more important than time. We have all the time in the world – Kuja's not going anywhere!"

"But then neither will we…" Zidane's voice was quiet as he stood from his chair.

Blank shoved the castle over, shattering it on the ground. "How can you even _think_ like that? How could any of you let that thought creep into your mind, and not automatically stomp it out? It's suicide…"

This time, Zidane didn't even have anything to say back to the redhead. His anger evaporated almost as fast as it came, and his furious tone was replaced with a desperate plea, "None of you were there… None of you saw when that thing took him away five, almost five and a half years ago…" He shook his head, "No one knew the feeling of abandoning your best friend for the sake of your own life. To come back with the most help you could find, and see there wasn't a trace of him left besides the dagger. There was no laughter, no messing around, just no Zidane. I thought I had lost him forever, and you see what kind of wreck that put me through. But I didn't even know for sure that he was killed… This time I would know."

Blank shook his head when no one answered him, and walked off, kicking large chunks of the castle that were in his way, before he slammed the hallway door. They knew he was off to his room.

Ruby bit her lip and started to go after him.

"Ruby…" Marcus started. She turned back around, her big, round eyes pleading; he only shook his head, "Don't… Not yet… Give him time…"

She walked further into the room and bent down, starting to pick up the castle he had ruined. That's when Zidane walked over from his spot, and knelt down, sweeping the pieces together with his hand. The other three watched them as they picked it up.

It wasn't long before there was less picking up the castle, and more silent tears spilling onto the wood. Zidane noticed the first time a droplet soaked into the floor, causing one small circle to be darker than the rest. But he finally stopped cleaning and wrapped his arms around the girl when her shoulders shook. As soon as he pulled her into him, she sobbed quietly.

"Blank's right…" It was surprisingly, hardened Marcus who spoke this. "We were all effected by the loss of Zidane, but Blank took it the hardest. Think about his actual team… Think about Dagger – she needs to be strong enough to lead the resistance… She won't be if she finds out he's dead… Think about Vivi… As harsh as it sounds, he is one of our ultimate weapons right now. He won't be useful if his first ally is gone… If Zidane couldn't withstand it, being truthfully more powerful than anyone else, then how can the rest of us? How can the resistance as a whole stand a chance, if we let one of two of our most important members die? Think about if we all knew he was dead – there wouldn't be a hope left in this world."

"I won't let us sacrifice this mission for my safety. This is the best chance we have, and I know all of you know it…"

"I know…" Marcus nodded solemnly, "This is our best shot at having a hope of winning this war… But I'm not prepared to lose you over it…" He smirked slightly – a determined look spreading across his face, "There has to be another way."

"We're open for suggestions," Cinna threw in.

"Give me time, I'll work it out…" He knelt down next to the pair already on the floor and put his hand on Ruby's shoulder, "Ruby… please go calm Blank down… Tell him we're going to find a plan… Talk to him about it – you're both feeling some intense emotions right now."

"You really think you can pull off recreating a plan within a destiny?"

"It's destiny for Zidane to die, sure… But not until he's old and wrinkled, and can hardly walk anymore… This is simply an altered detail… Like I said – if you give me time, I'll think of something… And I'll have it done before Kuja arrives – you have my word."

Baku nodded, "We're counting on you Marcus."

"Right…" He watched as Ruby slowly, and shakily, made her way across the spacious room of the ship, and gingerly opened the door.

"So what now?" Zidane asked, tilting his head.

"Right now, we train, and we work on everything we need to work on… We're going to treat it as though nothing has changed – after all, Zidane's not in danger yet…"

"He's got just as much chance of dying right now, than we all do," the heavier thief threw in his two-sense as well, "Everything will work out…" Marcus' words had influenced his own feelings on the situation.

Zidane smirked, "I trust that I'm in good hands…" He high fived Marcus, and wandered off to find a broom, leaving the fighter, leader, and navigator to their thoughts.

Did Baku really believe they could save the blonde's life? Not really… but he wasn't going to dampen anyone's spirit… Who knows… his team had always been good at starting a fight with the impossible and winning…

Who says Zidane's life would be any different of an outcome?

?

"_Vivi!"_

_The walls began to melt, the very detail blurring together in a slippery line he couldn't make out. "Vivi where are you! You have to help me! I can't do this alone! I can't be the only dreamer here!"_

_The others had perished, Steiner had been stabbed before his very eyes... His last words '_save the princess' _rang through his head, causing his heart to throb. Beatrix had been kidnapped long ago – perhaps that's why the knight was willing to let go. He watched as the whole Tantalus crew fell at the hands of Kuja, all while performing the play, someone taking the blonde's role so he didn't have to be there._

_And Dagger – precious Dagger… She was gone too. No where to be found, and he knew if he didn't hurry, she would be dead too. He couldn't let that happen to her – the pain was filling his lungs like water, suffocating and drowning him, causing him to seemingly run slower and slower._

"_Vivi!" He shouted out. He needed the black mage more now, than the young boy had ever needed him. He had lost him. Vivi depended on him the most, and yet he had let also _him_ get away…_

_He was nothing… Just a useless person, fighting for a cause that was lost long ago… _

_Suddenly, he rounded the corner and saw a girl. Her long blonde hair fell down her back, and he blinked a few times to make sure he had the gorgeous pink gown right. She turned lightly._

"_Zidane? I thought that was you…" She smiled, and he could only make out the ruby on her lips – no other features were visible. The waves in her hair were pinned elegantly to the sides. "You're going to be late you know…"_

"_Who…" He trailed, as realization dawned on him._

_She turned all the way around, revealing her gorgeous face. Her emerald eyes were lined with make up, and she truly was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. "Isn't this what you wanted, Zidane?" She picked up her dress and turned it completely, "You and me to be together? I know you always had thoughts that we would settle down…"_

_He took a step back as he realized that her hands were not the color of skin… but the color of blood._

"_Elouise…" He breathed the name that sounded so very foreign to him now._

"_What's the matter honey? Aren't you ready to begin our rule together?"_

"_Why is there blood on your hands?"_

"_Oh this?" She took her delicate hands off her dress, and he watched as droplets rolled down the beautiful, pink material, staining it. "Well… I had to take care of the revolt somehow…"_

_He dared to push past her, and saw what haunted him most. Blood seeped down the steps from a body. Though the head was behind a bench, he knew who it was by the slender and petite body._

"_We're going to rule Alexandria together, aren't we? Just like you always told me?"_

"_What have you done?" He questioned in a whisper._

"_I had to – for us…" She wrapped her arms around his waist, and somehow, though his mind screamed no, he found his hands pressing over hers. The warm liquid began to seep through his thin clothing. "It was the only way to get what we want."_

"_What about Vivi?" He questioned._

"_Who?"_

_It seemed as though he were going into a trance. "The…" Closing his eyes, she whispered in his ear, words of encouragement and praise – words of Elouise's kind voice he hadn't heard in what seemed like years. "No one…"_

"_Zidane!" The small voice rang out of nowhere, "Zidane don't! Help!" The scream was louder than he had ever heard before, and suddenly it filled his very ears so loud he couldn't even hear himself think._

?

"Zidane!"

"Vivi!" He yelped, shooting up in bed. He was in a cold sweat, and his eyes were wide and scared.

"Whoa… What's wrong with you?" Sapphire eyes met chocolate ones, as Cinna poked at him. "You okay?"

"Worst dream ever…" He mumbled, shaking his head and rubbing it.

"Well, I came in here to tell you to look outside!" The thief insisted.

Both of them scampered over to the window as the blonde tried to let go of his dream as fast as possible. "Look…" Cinna pulled open the curtain and allowed Zidane to peak outside, "We're in Terra…"

Light blue and vibrant pink bulbs seemed to light the air. If he squinted he could make out distinct crystals giving off this mysterious light. Few people walked about, and those who did bore a beautiful, chestnut tail. Though some, wearing robes, and others wearing armor, were normal humans, you could definitely tell who was from Terra, and who wasn't…

Buildings shot up everywhere, being built around the lovely emerald grass, and sprouting, giant mushrooms. Terra's significance in the world was small, but the beauty was rare and almost always overlooked. Peace and quiet seemed to dawn over the gorgeous place.

Slowly, Prima Vista turned, and he could see the river flowing merrily through the town, sending off tranquil vibrations that made him want to fall back into a trance of a sleep.

"This is one hell of a place to stay for the next month…" Cinna mumbled, equally as tired.

Zidane watched as the light became more normal. The hues of the crystals shown brightly to the world outside of the city, but once under its field of light, the skies looked darker, like night as it should have been, the colors only as bright as stars. Surely in the day, it would look quite contrasting.

"This is it!" Marcus mumbled, moseying into the room, "This is our life for the next few weeks…"

"Take a good look…" Blank mumbled to Zidane, the only other in the room knowing what exactly the blonde was going to do while here…

?

**A/N: I really loved that chapter, and I **_**loved **_**writing it! I like that I could bring that Tantalus crew as a whole back into this! So the solemn news about Zidane is shared. I really like how passionate Blank is, still feeling guilty after all these years about the incident in Treno.**

**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter as much as I did! I cannot wait to write Terra – it's going to be so much fun! :D The dream was creepy, is it not? He tends to have those disturbances in his life, and I don't like them… Lol I wish he would stop :) Maybe if and when he meets Elouise ever again, they'll finally end. Enough of my ranting ^-^**

**Please review and let me know what you think!**

**-zesty-**


	37. Chapter 36: Memories of Home

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 36: Memories of Home**

_Just like a dream…_ Those were the first words that entered Zidane's head as he wandered off the ship. His head turned this way and that, the crystals shining brightly overhead, giving them just enough light to illuminate the city in a majestic and mysterious way, but little enough to allow them to realize the difference between night and day, so they knew when to sleep.

The entire crew was exhausted and tired, their ship such a drab place to stay all the time. The governor of the city, of course by Kuja's hand, had graciously allowed them two rooms at the most wonderful hotel they had, up so high it was the closest room to the crystals, but still so far away. He was completely oblivious to the fact that they were really from the resistance… As far as they knew, the Prima Vista was an amazing theater ship, and he was honored to have them perform in Terra.

Terra was a great land, consisting of its only city, that didn't have a name – it simply went as 'Terra', like the rest of the territory. There were many places in the country, but again, they didn't obtain a name in all their years. Mostly, there weren't towns, but only small pit stops, like a place to buy food, or occasionally a place to buy potions.

Unfortunately, it was the first place taken over by Kuja. He had begun with the less influential places, and like it had been stated before, in all of its rare glory, Terra was not a persuasive country. It stayed neutral to all world affairs until Kuja knocked on its doors. He had wanted Alexandria originally, but knew that he would have to gain a bit of power first – that's why he took the entire west side of the world before going in for the kill… Not that the order he took over in mattered, as he was so powerful by himself, it only took a matter of months to obtain the world. That's what fueled people's fear of the man the most…

Shoving the door open to the room, Zidane collapsed onto the bed, almost falling asleep as he walked.

For him, it was a rather sad event, when Cinna had the same thoughts. He collapsed on top of the blonde, unaware the bed was already occupied. Sapphire eyes bulged and he squirmed out from under the unmoving mass of a body, falling to the floor, but too lazy to get back up.

It would have woken everyone up, and made everyone in a better mood – only their spirits were still low from their conversation on the ship – Blank had hardly spoken at all, except when they were first landing in Terra.

"You should get some shut eye – our first performance is tomorrow…" Baku nodded, causing everyone to groan and fall back on the bed; all but Cinna, who was already asleep.

Their leader glanced around, wondering who exactly he should kick off their bed so he could have one to himself without having to go to the second room. Ruby had already meandered over to the other space, not wanting to bother her already irritated and upset self even more, by fighting for a spot in an overpopulated room, filled with smelly boys who snored.

Zidane was pulled up by Marcus, who slowly maneuvered out of the room, leaning on each other for support due to their sleep-drunk state. Baku had inevitably picked Marcus off of his bed, considering the tough thief had taken the largest in the room. It was his own fault…

When the blonde finally collapsed on the bed, he was suddenly stripped of sleep. Staring up at the ceiling, he wondered how exactly his plans were going to go with Blank, but then his thoughts slowly started to shift to Dagger.

The thought had filled his mind ever since the airship – what would happen when he didn't get to see the girl again? When he, in fact, didn't get to see _anyone_ again. What would Vivi do? Oh no… the poor little guy wouldn't have any protection against those who thought the dreamers were too dangerous. He wouldn't have anyone who knew what he was going through – he wouldn't have his best friend.

Though the Genome was obviously matched with the redhead when it came to 'best friend' Vivi was a different sort of dear friend that only he and Zidane would know about… They had lived in the same world – dreamed the same dream… They had experienced news that had never happened, events that wouldn't take place. They met people who would never be, and yet that had been their life, their friends, their memories of the past five years.

He was aware that both he and the black mage often mixed the two worlds up. Wondering if, indeed, perhaps parts of Alexandria still possessed luscious grass, and bustling groups of people, instead of the wasteland it so obviously was now. They sometimes worried that someone they once knew of would suddenly appear in front of them, evil, or dead… It was a disturbing thought, and they could lean only on each other for assistance.

Slowly, the blonde rolled over, flopping onto his stomach in hopes of reaching sleep. He didn't want to think anymore – but his eyes were as wide awake as ever, and he needed something to do. Sighing, he shoved himself off the bed, and slipped back on his shoes. Glancing at his two roommates, he saw that both were indeed asleep, and slowly crept out of the room.

Jumping down the many stairs of the lofty hotel (insisting on skipping the elevator shaft due to the immense amount of people), he tried to erase those thoughts from his mind. Hopefully, he would find something different to think about… Terra, after all, was his homeland.

At least – as far as he knew. He could have been _completely_ wrong, but then as he thought about it, pushing open the doors of the hotel and inhaling the scent of downtown, he realized that the feeling he had about it was absolutely _right_.

Baku wasn't lying when he said that people were ecstatic about the play group being there. Already posters were being hung up, and the long line about a block down, he figured, was also to come watch the play. He probably would have been flocked by people, had he not blended in due to his tail. Smirking, he realized that similar to the way Treno was about five years ago (but probably more affected now, due to the fact that Kuja was much closer to the city that never sleeps, than to Terra), where though they were under different rule, there definitely was no reining in these people. Zidane admired that about the Genome race – they did whatever they wanted, much like himself.

The blonde didn't really know where he was going. He had no direction in such an unfamiliar, yet recognizable atmosphere, so he was just blindly walking, checking out the sights and what people had to say from what he could hear passing by. It took him a long time before he was actually out of the main part of the city.

Crowds began to thin, and he watched as people slowly retired into their homes – the older ones who wanted to simply relax inside their houses, and bathe in good fortune of being where they were in their life.

Without warning, he decided to turn down the street, and walk for another long while. He wondered vaguely how long he had been gone, as the thoughts sifted through his mind, and eventually all fell through the holes – he wasn't thinking about anything stressful or determined to do anything anymore… He simply wanted to walk.

The lighting above him began to dim the further away from town he got. The grass was tickled by the cool breeze, as Zidane entered a more run down area. He tilted his head, not really knowing why he had turned at such random points to end up here. The houses were creepy and almost torn apart, and there still seemed to be grass rooted up. There was no fresh soil scent, and everything was apparently dead.

His brow creased as he stopped in front of one house in particular. It was small, but cozy looking – at least it would have been had it still been looking alright. Half of the roof had caved in, and the front porch looked completely charred – probably from a fire. The grass outside was dead and shriveled, and there was a random red ball laying there. He picked it up and shuttered, suddenly dropping it.

?

_A giggle escaped into the air, and people from across the street watering their lawn smiled and called out, though the young one didn't hear what they said._

_He laughed as he threw the ball up in the air, watching it magically eclipse a large crystal in the air, before falling back into his small hands._

"_Honey!" An angelic voice floated out of the window and he turned, blinking in awaiting confusion. "It's time to eat!" He laughed and dropped the ball, the red material completely forgotten. Hopping up the steps, he opened the door and ran inside, straight into a man's arms._

_The older man laughed and wrapped his own strong arms around the tiny boy, picking him up and bringing him to the kitchen. His hair was a dirty blonde, and his eyes were a beautiful piercing green._

_The woman stood in the kitchen and turned, showing her long auburn hair, and beautiful face. She had soft features, and kind, sapphire eyes as her voice floated on the air. The boy was placed back on the ground, and he ran off to sit at the table – readily being the first to eat._

_?_

Zidane shook his head. "Whoa…" He mumbled out loud, "That was weird…" He shrugged and put a little weight on the first burnt step. It shuttered, and the whole front of the house creaked.

Carefully, he hit the support beam with his hand, and again, the house moaned in protest. Instead of listening to the physical objections of the building, he carefully leapt onto the porch, hurrying inside as it seemingly growled at him.

The inside of the house was even creepier than the outside. There were things broken all over the place, shattered glass, dishes that had fallen to the ground. There were_ very_ old jars of food still sitting on the counter, some of them missed during what looked like an attempted clean up, and still open.

He peaked feverishly into the living area, and saw the giant chair flipped over, and torn up. There was a strange creature gnawing at something in the corner, and as Zidane craned his neck to look, he identified the item as a book. His eyes lowered as he stepped on glass, immediately scaring the creature out the broken window.

Moving his foot away, his eyes widened when he saw a picture. A woman in a wedding dress, her long auburn hair pinned elegantly to her head, a beautiful necklace chained around her neck, the dress hugging her hips then flowing out like royalty. The veil blew behind her in the wind as she held her bouquet. The man was equally as sparkling, his eyes matching his smile as he stood poised in his black tux. His messy blonde hair was pulled back out of his face, and his arm had slipped around his new wife's waist. Behind him, the tip of a tail peaked out. Zidane recognized these people…

A creak caused him to jump, and when he snapped up his eyes, he saw the creature return, and continue gnawing on the book. He picked up the photo and folded it up, shoving it in his back pocket.

The large, round eyes of the creature blinked innocently as it tilted its head at Zidane. It's highly large ears bent back, and he sat up on his hind legs, glancing around as his tail folded around him. The blonde smiled a little, "Why do you keep coming back here…?"

?

"_Momma, can we keep him?" The small voice was even tinier than the last time, as he peered curiously at the small animal, cupped in his father's hands._

"_I don't know…" She bit her lip and glanced at her husband; he simply smiled._

"_As long as you take care of it bud, I don't see how that would hurt. He's so small…"_

"_Yay!" The small boy danced around merrily, and hugged the small creature in his arms, "I'm going to make sure you never ever leave – you'll love it at our house!" He gleamed, and the animal made a clucking noise in harmony with him, obviously just as happy._

_?_

Zidane squeezed his eyes shut as his whole being felt like it was swimming. He steadied himself on the wooden door frame, and reopened his eyes. Again he shook away the strange thoughts. It was like waking up from the dream Alexandria all over again. Rolling his eyes, he figured what he was thinking was silly.

He dragged himself up the stairs, looking at all the broken things on the wall, glass that had been shattered and fallen onto the stairs. But then the most disturbing thing began to fill his vision.

First it started as a few drops of blood, staining the now-dull wood and dirty carpets on the floor. He watched with horror as it got thicker and thicker until there was a dried pool. He suspected someone had died right there, and glancing further into the room there was yet another giant pool…

He gasped as he moved around the blood, looking around. The upstairs had a bathroom, and two bedrooms, with a wide area for yet another sitting space. He poked his head into a room, hoping to get away from all of the blood. There was a small bed, with toys and such that was torn apart. Stuff animals were ripped, blankets were shredded and almost _wilted_ looking. The many years of rugged weather , as part of this room had no roof, and most likely curious animals, much like the one downstairs, most likely helped destroy it, but the blonde wondered what went on here, that truly caused the place to be abandoned.

He didn't want to pick through the room too much, especially seeing all of the blood in the other room, but carefully he opened a drawer or two. He found small clothes – unfamiliar to him in sight and smell, but somehow, in the back of his mind was a tinge of recognition. Again he rolled his eyes, _what a silly thought…_ Turning around, he left the room, and decided to investigate by the window, where the last amount of blood was.

Zidane stared at it for a long amount of time, tilting his head, and trying to think of where this might have been before. He wondered vaguely… could this be the place from his dream? As he bent down, the disgusting scent of old blood filled his nostrils, and he almost shot right back up. But he saw the remains of a feeling, and didn't know exactly what to make of it. Glaring, he sat on the floor, suddenly confused an angry. He grabbed his hair and ducked his head between his legs, feeling sick.

?

_"Kuja shan't be defied!" Someone in a helmet growled at them._

_The woman stepped backwards, her long hair sweeping against her son's head. Her blue eyes were so wide with fear, it was amazing they didn't drop out of her head. Her long pale arm gripped the young one's shoulder fearfully. Her son with the same and blue eyes blinked, confused, and far less scared than he should be._

_"Please..." The man in front of the two tried to wager their freedom, "we've done nothing! I can promise you... But if you must take me... Leave my wife and son. She had nothing to do with it, and he - he's a mere boy - only three years of -"_

_"Lies!" Taking his metallic sword, he shoved it through the blonde man's stomach, causing a blood flow through the mouth, and spat onto the soldier's hand._

_In disgust, he yanked out the sharp metal, allowing the now limp body to the floor. Screaming, his wife dropped down, tears streaming down her face as she hugged his head. His blood smeared face caused the young child to look up in fear. The soldier advanced on his mother in a stalking way. Now that the man was gone, there was no reason to keep his family around._

_"Mommy!" He cried out, yanking her arm._

_"Zidane! Run!" Looking up in the last moment, she cast a protect spell on Zidane before being hit down, a bloody heap on the ground after the soldier took out his rage on her soft body._

_Stabbing her once more, he advanced on Zidane, but his eyes flashed in anger. He stumbled backwards, almost all fear evaporating from him as he saw both of his parents dead on the ground... Just like that. Tears rolled down his cheeks as the horror struck, and he began to feel dizzy with sick. The fear was gone, but the haunting of those images would never leave him so long as he lived._

_?_

His eyes snapped open and he leapt up in pure horror. Glancing around, everything had come back to him about that night. He barely remembered anything else – just those images… horrible, terrible images of the people so close to him, and probably a decade and a half ago, spread over his mind like the plague.

Zidane stumbled to get up, knocking over the only chair standing upright. He gripped the door frame but suddenly swept his arms to push him away from it. The blonde needed to get out of this house. He vaulted the stairs railing and tripped down them, stumbling into the wall with tears leaking down his face. He hardly noticed.

Crashing into yet another wall, he forced himself not to break down and collapse as he stumbled out of the house. The porch only moaned for a moment as he jumped down it, though he didn't fail to notice that all of the pressure caused a giant crack to run straight through it. But he didn't stop, as he sprinted down the street, trying to get the memories out of his head. This part of the town was abandoned and he now understood why. It was a place of great terror – no wonder why that couple stared at him when he walked down that way.

Bursting out of the dreary street, he was back with laughing people. There weren't as many as before, and he wasn't sure what time it was, but he shook with emotions. Trying to walk up the straight as though nothing had happened, his knees began to buckle below him.

People mumbled to him, but he couldn't make out the words as he walked down the smooth sidewalk. Suddenly, his legs gave out, and he collapsed, sprawled out on the ground. One girl screamed, and he heard pattering footsteps slamming hard into the ground.

"Are you okay?" They demanded, trying to shake him back away. More tears fell from his eyes, but he didn't answer. He simply laid there and shook.

"Someone call the guards!" A girl shrieked.

"Tantalus!" Zidane sucked in the word, and curled on his side, so shaken up he probably wasn't recognizable.

"Get the leader of the theater ship that just came in! They're staying at the Root!"

Someone ran off at a dead dart towards the middle of downtown, as the others tried to flatten Zidane out and give him some water. He simply shook his head, whether to indicate he was fine, or to get the nasty pictures out of his head. He didn't want to be here anymore… He didn't want to know…

The war just became more personal to him than he had ever dreamed it would. It was no longer about Elouise, or simply fighting because all of his friends – the whole resistance had lost many things dear to them… And it still yet, wasn't fighting because he had lost people he knew in the attack on Dali.

Oh no – things were much more personal than that… He tried to calm himself down, but soon he slipped into darkness. This was about the family he never got to know…

?

**A/N: I know that was kind of a creepy end to what I thought would be a pleasant chapter about Terra. I know I'm not describing a lot, but I'm doing that so hopefully you get the feel for what Terra is yourselves… I don't actually remember if there were mushrooms or not – but I thought it would be cool to have mushrooms. I know the city is actually really dead and creepy, but we're going to say its not for the sake of the story.**

**Kinda cool that there are actual intelligent people, instead of like the lifeless Genomes in the game ^-^**

**Please review and let me know what you think so far!**

**-zesty-**


	38. Chapter 37: Life Without You

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 37: Life Without You**

"Hey…" He handed the blonde a cup, steaming rising almost ominously out of it.

Sapphire eyes skeptically glanced up from the substance, though he squeezed the mug – it was warm on his cold hands. "Did you make this?"

"It's chicken noodle…" He shrugged and plopped down on the bed next to his friend's, and watched him.

The blonde glanced down again, swearing he saw something move. Taking a small sniff, he immediately recoiled, nose scrunching, "I thought it was cream of mushroom…"

The redhead huffed, "Just eat it!"

The blonde chewed his lip, before putting the mug to his mouth and sucking in some, before stealthily letting it slip back into the cup… Blank would never know…

Glittering light lingered, shooting through the blinds, and onto the bed and wooden floor in long strips. Not a lot of noise was heard from the highest room of the tall building in Terra, but there was enough from the rooms next to them that kept them occupied to silence.

"You know, Zidane…" Blank mumbled, causing him to look up, "It'll be any day soon… I hear rumors every time I walk down the street – people don't do a very good job in being quiet when someone from Tantalus walks by…"

Zidane nodded – he knew too… They had been in Terra for almost three weeks, and at first it was slow… They would do their act, and would live it up, and repeat the process… It was only a few mumbles that they never heard about, and suddenly it sprouted like a spring flower. The rumor that a dreamer was in plain sight in Terra had trembled through the city, and hopefully would be arriving in Alexandria soon…

Of course, this was excellent news to their mission, but the glum attitude of the team had definitely taken a toll… Their performance was still astonishing, but no one quite had the same energy they did when they first arrived… After the scare with Zidane had passed – he hadn't quite been the same.

He was quiet now, and more reserved, and everyone thought that was a delayed effect of the news of his inevitable death. He had, in truth, only told a surprising Cinna about the events that had truly sparked his attack that night… He didn't want to worry anyone else. The two had grown surprisingly closer after the facts were relayed to the other thief, though the difference to anyone else wasn't obvious.

Slowly, as each personally heard the rumor of Kuja's return to Terra to take the dreamer, and about the dreamer being there himself, their spirits began to drop, and all hpes relied on Marcus' promise to save Zidane's life…

"Our mission will officially start soon…" Zidane commented. There was an eerie silence for a moment, "Blank?"

"Huh?" The redhead replied, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms, all the while propping his feet up on the bed where the blonde resided.

"I don't want all these people to die…" He thought about how many people he had met, and even that strange girl – Mikoto, who had taken to Zidane like a sister, and become highly interested in Marcus.

"What do you mean?"

"When we take Kuja's ship, I know there's going to be a lot of people who are going to die…" He shook his head, "I don't want that to happen… These people have been amazing to us, and though the rumors are spreading rapidly, they've been nothing but confident and cheery… We can't just backstab them…"

"How do you propose we save them, Zidane?" Blank's face flushed crimson and he sounded suddenly angry. "We can't save you and all these people!"

He closed his eyes, the truth about his death _had_ been settling in with him, knowing that Marcus could not do a thing about it, but he hadn't let it affect him. "You know I'd rather you save these people than me…"

"They're not quite as important as you…"

Zidane glared, "They're my race – they're just as important as me… They're the same… They all have families and hopes for the future, they all have things they want to fight for, and they probably all have the same amount of potential…"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Blank insisted stubbornly. "It's not like we could move the play, and make some big blow out performance to save a bunch of people! You're being unreasonable! And we can't store them away on our ship and taken them with us! That'd be even more idiotic!"

Zidane suddenly froze. Almost dropping the cup, he whipped it onto the table next to him and stumbled to stand. He hopped around the room trying to shove on his shoes and slip on his shirt all at the same time.

"What are you doing?" Blank demanded as the blonde made a beeline for the door, "I'm not done yelling at you!"

"Baku!" He yelled, bursting into the next room over. Everyone lazing around with their leader jumped – there hadn't been that much energy in Zidane's slur of words in a long time, and they were all a bit surprised.

"What's up with you, Kid?"

His finger jerked towards Mikoto, who leaned against Marcus, his body up against the wall. "Tell her!"

"What?" Baku glared, though confusing loomed over his features.

"Tell her everything!" Zidane barked, "Or I'm going to!"

"Zidane what are you –" Marcus began, but the blonde cut him off.

"I'm the dreamer Mikoto!" Everyone gasped, and Ruby jumped up; everyone was stunned, "We're all from the resistance and our main goal is to get Kuja here to capture his ship!"

She blinked a couple of times, face void of emotion. All was silent, now they wanted to hear the reply more so than stopping the reveal of their identities.

"I figured you were the dreamer, Zidane…" She already said, "That part is obvious… I think everyone actually probably assumes that."

A puff of air suddenly fell from Baku's mouth… He was shocked – how was no one else? Unknowing to him, the rest of his team had already pretty much thought that people must have been able to tell.

"But… This next part… I'm quite surprised about…" Her expression betrayed her words, but her eyes flickered with a mellow excitement. "The resistance?" She glanced at Marcus, "Who knew a couple of stars would be from that hardcore group…" She chuckled, flicking her own blonde hair from her face, "And who knew that you were all here to attempt a suicide mission…" She leaned forward.

"Kuja has had his eye on me for sometime… I won't deny that…" Taking in a deep breath, she knew she was revealing information not even Marcus knew, "There was talk for sometime that I would join him… Not necessarily as his partner, or some interesting, weird, marriage or anything, but more like his right hand… A power tool with the people – someone they knew isn't corrupt… But, that thought has been shot down by me many times…"

"Why are you saying all of this?" Baku demanded, suddenly gripping the hilt of his sheathed dagger, all as he narrowed his eyes, "What kind of traitor are you…"

"Believe me, I am no traitor…" She pushed off of Marcus, and leaned forward to look at Zidane directly, "I want to help… and I believe Zidane has an idea…" She nodded – through all of the noise this room had been creating, she had heard his and Blank's conversation…

"Let some of them join us…" Zidane jumped in immediately, obviously animated he already had the subject of his idea's support. "The next phase of the mission is to recruit people from around the world…" He nodded, "Why not start that now?"

"Because the first phase isn't over yet!" Blank tore into the room, eyes furious.

"If they want to help us, they can!" Zidane stared hard at everyone, "Why not get support from Terra, so that we don't have a need to come back here in the future. This place will be _flooding_ with guards that I'm sure will never leave, and it will be all the more difficult to get help!"

Baku seemed to like the idea, but Ruby shook her head, "They'll all find us out!" She insisted, "Darlin' ya have the right frame of mind, but I'm dandy sure they ain't gonna let us continue if they find out what we doin'!"

"They won't find out…" Zidane insisted, "They want to help us! They _could_ help us! And she could help us make sure we don't kill a bunch of innocent people!"

"Whoa…" Cinna sat up, "You didn't mention anything about _saving_ people… Our plan is to capture Kuja's ship – isn't that enough for you right now, Zidane? I mean…" He glanced around, wondering if he should bring up the subject, but deciding now that decisions were being made, it'd be good to bring it up. "Your head is on the chopping block here – that's only going to make it even more inevitable that you're going to die."

"Who said anything about him dying?" Marcus glared, "I told you I'd take care of that!"

"Will you be able to? I still say we abort the whole damn thing!" Blank yelled, and soon voices erupted into arguments all around the room. Zidane squeezed his eyes shut, his head spinning.

"_Everybody be quiet!"_ He screamed, causing most of the discussion to die into grumbles of protest. "We'll get to my death when we get there… But I'm not going to let Terra be wiped out to get this ship –"

"There were so many things we didn't think through before coming here…" Blank interrupted, slapping his hands onto either side of his head, "I don't think –"

"_Shut up!_" Zidane demanded as more people began to protest some more, "Please…" His eyes went wide and pleading, "We're a resistance fighting to make the world ours again… How is it going to look when we seek the help of others – if we just killed almost the whole population of Terra…" He shook his head, "Think about Lindblum and Alexandria, and Bermecia… What if we did that to those cities? Everyone would be mortified…"

The words slowly began to sink in, and everyone calmed down. Though all didn't necessarily agree with making the plan more dangerous and difficult, they couldn't argue that Zidane was right…

"What do you suggest we do?" Marcus asked.

"Move the play…" He smirked, his idea forming together, "Move the play out into the country, and keep me in the city… Make it obvious I won't be playing the role I normally do…"

"How do you suppose we get people to come to the play?"

"How do you suppose we offer you _back up!_"

"I got an idea…" Zenero offered, his often silent voice piping in. All eyes turned to him, causing him to shift uncomfortably, "If we want to offer Terra civilians the chance to join the resistance – why don't their first task be to take our spots in the play… Pretend we're all going to be there except for Zidane, and then hide us in the city to offer him support…"

"That's…" Zidane started, thinking about the downsides, but finding few, "Perfect!"

Mikoto spoke up next, "I'll make sure I get the word out to all who I know aren't loyal to Kuja… And make it the utmost secret that the resistance is recruiting…"

"That's excellent," Marcus commented, kissing her cheek, "Let's do it!"

"We don't have a lot of time," Baku warned, "If all of you spontaneous dumb shits want to do this… We have to do it soon!" His gruff voice was stern, and all of them nodded.

"We can make it work!" Cinna grinned, rubbing his stomach.

_I hope so…_ Zidane through with a grin, masking the true nervousness of this situation…

Again he thought about how he would help the resistance, but his life was at an even higher risk now. What was the point though, if he couldn't make a difference?

And yet… thinking about the ones at home… about Dagger… Was making a difference worth dying for?

?

"You have very lovely hands…" He suddenly reached out and touched one of hers, and she blushed, glancing away.

"You see my hands all the time…" She murmured.

"Yes, but I just realized now how soft they were… I see them…" He leaned close and whispered in her ear, "But I don't always get to feel them…"

She didn't say anything as she looked away, eyes twinkling with embarrassment.

"Really though Garnet, they are lovely…" She shuttered, never quite getting used to the name…

"You should probably be going, Bronson… Steiner will be looking for his sparring partner…" He laughed, and turned over her hand, quickly bringing it to his lips and kissing it, before pushing off the ground, an exiting the tent.

The young girl leaned back on her right palm, while staring at the other. He had definitely taken an interest in her in the last two weeks, and surprisingly, she found herself with things to busy herself, despite the situation at hand…

And yet, when the thought of Zidane pierced into her mind, it ripped at her heart with a guilt too unbearable to imagine… She didn't consider this anything bad, and yet the way he spoke to her, the way he made her feel… Perhaps this _was_ something to be worried about.

Bronson had known the girl for a two weeks. His sun-kissed, blonde hair, and tanned, toned muscles definitely weren't a sore sight for anyone's eyes. His beautiful chocolate eyes sparkled with a sense of pride and security that she seemed to radiate around his confidence.

He was an excellent addition to the resistance, and yet… To her feelings? She wasn't entirely sure…

_**Two Weeks Prior**_

"_We're under attack!" Someone shouted, causing Dagger to glance up from her small game with Vivi._

_He looked around, scared, "Oh no… What if they've been captured?" The young mage automatically thought of Zidane, and thought perhaps they were being attacked now because of the failure of the mission._

"_No, it's okay, Vivi…" She insisted, jumping up and taking his hand to follow. "I'm sure they're fine!" She told him, shoving open the flap to her tent._

_They had moved farther south – much farther south actually, and were near a forest. They didn't dare go any further, due to what could be _in_ that forest, so they had decided to camp out away from there._

_Now, as she moved outside, the autumn-like breeze, brushed her hair back and leaves towards her. People were running in and out of the forest, and confused, she moved to follow. Luckily, Beatrix caught both of them before they could get too far._

"_No! You two can't go… You're the only people we need to protect right now… Go to the chamber, Cid will be waiting to stay with you!"_

"_But –"_

"_Go!" She insisted, pulling her long sword from it's sheath and running forward._

_She began to back up as people began running out screaming. Vivi glanced at her, unsure of what to do, before she motioned to him, and retreated away from the woods._

_Soon enough, she found the small stone path on the ground, carefully following it to a small, unnoticeable tree-root, sticking out of the ground in the shape of a handle. She pulled it, and a whole moss door opened, to reveal a small chamber below ground. Carefully, her and Vivi moved down the wooden log-like steps to the bottom. Cid was there already with a torch._

_They hadn't made a very big safe house, that's for sure, but it was secure and sturdy, and they harbored a few supports in the small area. It was mainly for emergencies where only a handful of them had to be hidden… This was one of those times…_

"_What's going on?" Dagger demanded to Cid, who handed a blanket to Vivi and her – it was chilly under the soil._

"_They've found people in the forest."_

"_Couldn't they be from Conde Petie?" She suggested, thinking all of this was silly, but obviously being nervous._

"_No…" He shook his head, "True people… both are in armor, and both speak normally… At least, one screams normally and the other hollers with an Alexandrian accent."_

"_Alexandria…?" She yearned for thoughts of home, even though the city wasn't truly hers anymore. "What if they're allies –"_

"_That's what we're trying to figure out… Patients Dagger…" He put a hand on her shoulder and wrapped her in a quick hug, "It's far too dangerous before we know for sure… It could be a trick…"_

_And yet all she could think about was a lovely person who also shared the same dreams as her for restoring their homeland…_

_?_

"_Dagger! We need you!" Beatrix called out, pulling her along._

_The danger had passed when they found one of the men wounded and unconscious, the other barley able to walk, but still fully there._

_They were now calling in the young girl – their best white magic user – to help the unconscious man. She had viciously trying to fight her way in, and now she was getting there, though now more nervous than ever…_

_As soon as she entered the tent, she moved towards the man, who was unconscious, and barely breathing. "Please!" The other man scurried forward, "Save him! He's the only one I have left!"_

_She breathed, and glanced at the messy haired blonde, "I'll do my best…" With that she started the process she remembered she had picked up with almost natural talent, to save yet another person's life…_

_When it was all over, the man collapsed into the chair, glancing up at her through dirty bangs, "Thank you so much…" He shook her hand, "Bronson…"_

"_Dagger…" She nodded to him._

"_I know you from somewhere…" He squinted, suddenly becoming suspicious._

_Beatrix advised her to speak the truth – as any suspicions that could be killed right off the bat, should have been._

_She sighed, and held out her hand, "Garnet Til Alexandros XVII…"_ _And suddenly he beamed at her, bowing in front of her, instead of grasping her hand._

"_Ahh… The future of our kingdom…" He spoke his words truthfully and in all seriousness, though the girl had to let out a laugh._

_He was quite the charmer…_

_?_

She had met him, and ever since had been spending every moment not training, with the man. He had learned everything about her so quickly, though part of her thought quite artificially as well. Sighing, she leaned back on both of her hands now, and thought about a mission far away from their own.

"Zidane…" She mumbled, closing her eyes with an ache. She missed him, and she was quite aware that Vivi missed him as well… And considering the glares that Steiner gave this new man, she was sure even _he_ missed Zidane…

Smiling fondly, she pushed off the ground, and walked outside the tent, surprised to see sun leaking through the tree leaves. They had moved into the forest now, and were already setting up a resistance above and below ground. In the tops of the tall trees, small buildings were beginning to emerge, and long lines of ladders and intricate ropes were found, linking their small civilization above. Also, their underground fortress was being rebuilt with the same scheme as before – using the first dug out chamber, as their new escape, just incase…

They built it bigger, knowing they'd have more people joining them whenever Tantalus got back…

She bowed her head to stare at the multi colored leaves scattered about the ground. Though she had someone distracting her from the distress of losing Zidane, she knew that there was nothing going on that she couldn't stop…

She was waiting for Zidane to return, and when she did, she would be right back in his arms…

Since when was leading a resistance wrapped up with love affairs? That didn't seem like her at all…

?

**A/N: I know the second part was random, but give it time, and it will all explain itself. And don't automatically hate Dagger – there are those people out there who are just swept off their feet by people… Besides, her and Zidane weren't dating…**

**Calm down :) hold your horses, everything will turn out don't worry! :D**

**-zesty-**


	39. Chapter 38: Stutter

**0Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters**

**A/N: Sorry for the lack of update (saying this due to my last chapter) but :) I hope you all are enjoying the story… I have a job now (yay!) so updates may be hard to come by but I promise I won't give up and it'll try and be every week still! :D**

**Chapter 28: Stutter**

"What do you suggest I do?" The man's voice slipped into the deadly silence, causing the girl to stand just a little bit straighter.

"I think you need to go to the occurrences yourself…" She confirmed, "Considering how many times the dreamers have escaped you before due to guards' pitiful lack of intelligence and cleverness, someone with power and fear invoked in people… someone like you, should go…" She nodded, walking to the balcony's edge and wrapping her slender fingers around the edge, feeling the velvet leaves beneath her.

She watched the landscape, and knew far off in the distance, Dali had been wiped off the map… They were all a bunch of traitors – rule was calm and peaceful when Alexandria was still green and standing, and every single one of these people in the resistance, even _he_ had blown that by trying to resist, and trying to break free, when there was nothing to break free of…

"You're definitely someone who knows strategy… This is the reason I keep you so high in command you know…" His lips curled into a small smile, "I think I'll be leaving if I hear one more thing about the difficulties in Terra at the moment… No doubt if that rat dreamer is there, resistance members of the boat load will not be far off…"

"He wouldn't go alone," She decided, knowing him well enough, flicking her wavy hair from her face, "He would be too scared of death… Too scared something would go wrong…"

"You still think so? Even after he risked his freedom, and the ratty Princess' life to save the little one?"

"I believe he puts on a front…" She snarled, hands balling tighter around the wood; the thought of him made her infuriated, though she didn't particularly know why…

He's a traitor, so why should she care about his personality anymore?

"I see…" He nodded and clasped his feminine hands behind his back, "We'll catch him…" Another cruel smile grew upon his lips, "And make him wish he never resisted Lord Kuja."

The blonde woman could only nod in agreement, head too far lost in future thoughts.

What would she do when he was right in front of her again, confused and lost as to why they were no longer on the same side?

?

"You know you are not going to get word from them until they create a crash landing site near the place we first set up at, right?"

The voice startled her, and she turned to see Freya walked towards her, tail swishing behind her long, slender body.

"I'm just making sure I'll be able to see when they come home…" Dagger retorted calmly, turning her eyes towards the sky once more.

Instead of reprimanding her once more, the Bermecian walked to her side, and also tilted her head back, icy colored eyes glinting in the sunlight. There was one thing that was bothering Freya about Dagger lately…

But she didn't have enough time to finish thinking about what it was. "Freya?"

"Mm?" She answered, not saying anything more.

"Is this what it felt like when you were awaiting Sir Fratley's return?"

The rat-like creature was quiet for a long moment, listening to the breeze tickle the grass, hearing the natural laughter of Gaia, and the sound of her friends and teammates far behind them – further than Dagger's ears could reach out to, "Intensified…" She decided at last.

"Excuse me?"

"I've been awaiting for Fratley, wondering if he would be alright where he was, for a long span of time…" She shook her head, trying to see the situation from Dagger's point of view, "But then again… I did not watch him leave on a suicide mission…"

Suddenly Dagger's face scrunched up, and she turned away, breath caught in her throat. Perhaps the blunt things Freya had said had upset her, but she needed to know that from here on out, things could not be sugar coated.

_Oh yes…_ She suddenly figured out her answer, _it's the fact she has never told the Bronson newcomer of her friends far away… Rather – of Zidane…_

That was quite the reason she had been so bothered by the man's constant desire to be around the girl for support – more so than considering he was an Alexandrian knight who clung to his leader much like Steiner… This was different though…

She had taken an immediate liking to Zidane, and though he pressed for her attention, definitely did not step over the line… And, Freya had to add, there was no other man that was teetering on the horizon of a relationship with the young girl… Bronson seemed like the resistance's very own Casanova… Uh oh…

But the Bermecian decided it was not her place to lecture the girl, and continued to stay quiet, unless asked another question. It didn't last long.

"Do you think it's a suicide mission, Freya?" The question was so small and shaken, she was sure it was from Vivi instead of Dagger…

"I think…" She took in a breath, debating if she should really tell the young girl her true feelings on the matter, "You should just think positively… They'll bring Zidane back…" Dead or alive? That was a different issue… They would at least have the decency to get the body though… But Dagger didn't need to know that's what she meant.

"Garnet!" A strong, masculine voice rang beautifully through the shuffle of leaves and rustling of bushes, "Garnet, are you out here?"

She turned, and almost unwillingly sucked in a breath, "I'm here!" She called back.

That was Freya's cue to leave – she didn't want to see the man more than she had to. With a nod to the raven haired girl, she jumped, feeling the wind rush back upon her skin and through her clothing, and watched for a moment as she stayed suspended in the air, as people dotted the landscape below.

And finally, when she felt the wind catch the cloth wrapped around her, she began to maneuver herself away from the couple.

?

"Why are you so shy? You're weird!" She decided with a final head nod, and crossed her arms, before moving away with a "hmph!"

He blinked his blazing yellow eyes in confusion, and pulled his hat tighter onto his head. Turning away a little reluctantly, he wandered off, hoping to find salvation in someone he could trust… someone he could… talk to, and feel like he could relate to…

"Steiner…" He called out quietly (yes that's a joke kiddies lol), causing the man to turn around and let on a soft grin.

"Ahh! Master Vivi! What can I help you with tonight?"

"Do you…" He thought for a moment, trying to recall the girl's words, "think I'm… weird?"

The man stopped, highly confused by this random act, and tilted his head. Blinking a few times, he parroted, "weird?" the word tasted foreign on his tongue.

"Eiko thinks I'm weird…" He explained, as though it was simple, but it still confused him.

Steiner chewed his lip. Zidane would probably understand the black mage quite a bit better, and though he would never admit it, he wasn't the best with relationships…  
After all, it took him over a decade to get a relationship started with Beatrix. "Uhh…" He began, suddenly plopping down on the ground, and inviting the young mage to sit next to him.

"Girls are…" He tried to recall the right words, "special." Maybe that wasn't it, but he would go with it.

"Special?"

"See… They have it in their minds, that yes means no, maybe means no, and no means later… And they also have it in their minds, with that simple equation, that all of their actions have to follow that… For example… Eiko harassing you… That's a 'no' or a 'maybe' if she's sometimes nice, or not completely nasty. You have a fifty-fifty shot with this, now listen up Master Vivi…" He smirked triumphantly; he finally had it figured out.

"Since maybe means no, then that means she's not interested, but since it was a very blunt no, because she was mean to you, that means that you might have a shot at her saying yes!" He laughed, "Does that make sense?"

"Umm…" Vivi traced a leaf with a twig in the musky dirt.

"Great!" Steiner exclaimed, jumping up, "I have to get back to my duties now, Master Vivi! But it was wonderful that I could help!" Ha! Take that Zidane…

As the now-chipper man almost _danced_ away, Vivi shook his head, "You didn't even answer my question… I just wanted to know if you thought I was weird…" He sighed, and stared at the ground, dejected.

"Vivi?" This time, a very feminine voice caught his attention, and when he looked up, he spotted chestnut locks bouncing towards him. Beatrix gave him a small, sheepish, but amused smile, "Do you want some advice?"

"Yeah…" He thought perhaps she could help him.

"Don't listen to a thing Steiner says, okay?" Smiling then, she walked away, still leaving him in his thoughts, and keeping him in the dark about if he was weird or not…

?

"Do you think this war will ever be over?" He asked her, walking as close as possible without causing her suspicions to be aroused.

She thought for a moment, "As someone looking forward to rebuilding a future for her people, I would say yes, I do believe that someday it will end…" Dagger decided with a nod.

"Do you think we'll win then?" Bronson questioned, letting his fingers wisp past hers, leaving a ghostly prickle across her skin.

"I think if things go according to plan…"

"And what is the plan?"

"You have not been around long enough to figure it out," she teased, a smile tugging at her lips. He could only laugh with her – the conversation staying light. "We're in the process of figuring something out."

"Oh? It seems all of your people are here…"

She laughed, though it did not reach her eyes. Her long, dark lashes shadowed her porcelain cheekbones as her eyes settled downcast.

"It seems someone you're very close to is away…"

"Well…" She drew her lips into a thin line, before sighing and watching the calm path before her. "As you know, my team consists of Beatrix, Steiner," She thought for a moment, and decided she would count on her fingers, though never stopped moseying along the path, "Quina –"

"Who I have yet to meet…" He added with a grin; she ignored him for the most part, besides a simple smile.

"Freya, Vivi and occasionally a few others… But there are two more you haven't met…"

"Who would they be?"

"Two of them, both previously on a different team, before I met them… One's name is Blank – he's a short redhead with a hot temper, and he is probably my best friend…"

"Interesting…" Bronson commented lightly, urging her to continue.

"And then there's the second dreamer… Zidane…"

"You have both dreamers in your group? Impressive… If only I had had that kind of power a few years ago…"

"Only see…" She explained, "They awoke from their sleep by themselves… Kuja hadn't woken them – they seemed to come out of it by themselves… It's like…" She kicked at the dirt, arousing the dust, trying to think of a way to explain it. "A strong smelling food… You're eating something you love already, but then…" She laughed at her own silliness, "You smell something familiar, that you think you used to love, but can't quite remember. And as long as you're eating that other food, the scent of the memory never leaves, until finally you go and seek out this food…"

"So what you're telling me, is that the food represents their memory… And the memory of the real world was too strong in them – so strong in fact, that they awoke, and realized the other world was fake…"

"Well – that part had to be explained… And that's just my theory – I could be very wrong…"

"Tell me about this Zidane…" He coaxed, suddenly not interested in her food analogy any longer.

"He's funny and charming, and he would do anything – I mean _anything_ for his friends… He's missing some you know… Friends he had in the dream world…"

"Those would be all dreams…" The blonde stated pointedly.

"He met Vivi in the dream world…" She fired back, trying to make her point heard. "He's driven crazy by the fact that they're still under Kuja's clutches… But the sad part is – he has no idea if those friends he used to be so close to, were real or not…"

"That does seem like an awful pity… Has he tried to figure it out?"

"He did…" She spoke quietly then, "But it almost cost a few people their lives… And I revealed to Kuja that the Princess was still alive by using a summoning…"

The man whistled, shoving his hands into his pockets, "This character – I don't like the sounds of him…"

She laughed, "Do not be silly…"

"You know, Garnet?"

"Hmm?" She smiled pleasantly, listening to the sounds of nature she missed since they had fled Dali.

"Do you ever wonder if he's perhaps…" He dropped the tone of his voice so only she could hear – not even the moaning trees could reach out to listen, "a spy?"

"What?" She squeaked, smothering a laugh, "No way!"

"He seems to have done an awful lot to give you guys away…"

"Zidane used to be an actor, but Bronson, he wouldn't do that… His emotions are too real…" Though as she thought about this doubtful possibility, the way he had kissed her, and talked to her – protected her, seared through her heart with a dawning pain.

"Well there you go… The man knows how to act… I'm just saying for your safety…" Suddenly, in one bold movement, he swept his hand in hers. "You need someone who can protect you…"

A blush embedded itself on her cheeks, and she hesitated to pull away. But finally, her rational side took hold of her, and she pulled her hand away, "Believe what you like, but even the ones who hate him here, definitely know he's not a spy…"

The man was silent, refusing to agree with her. The hum of nature started again, unaware of them now as their presence lacked words. "I will protect you, Garnet…" He grasped her hand again, but only for a moment this time, "You have my word…"

She didn't think of it at the time, as anything more than an oath all had silently taken about each other… With a roll of her eyes, she started forward again, oblivious to the deeply run meaning of the words, rooted into the man now.

She really wanted Zidane to come home soon… Company with Bronson was becoming too gloomy…

?

"You're nervous, I can tell…"

"How so?" He asked, skeptical.

"We're pretty much related, Zidane…" She faintly smiled, though her eyes were set in the distance, distracted.

"I'm scared this isn't going to work… Everything will be for nothing, and people will get hurt."

"It's a sacrifice everyone is willing to make for you… I knew that the moment I found out about you guys… Actually – even since I met you…" She turned slightly towards him, so he could only see half of her face, "We'll be okay…" She nodded.

"When are they going to get here?" He questioned.

"There are quite a few people who heard about it, who want in…" She nodded slowly, "I told them to arrive as soon as half the sun was behind the horizon…"

He watched as slowly, sunlight was extracted from the greens and oddities of the land, that were so unlike the Mist and Outer Continents.

His ears prickled after a few more moments, and he could hear the quiet murmur of gossip sweeping up the rooftop by the wind. He smirked, as he could tell that there were more than just a couple people walking in the small group, ready to become part of something devastating.

And when they reached the top and saw him, they stopped – eyes wide, and jaws dropped. Seeing Mikoto with a dreamer must have put them in awe, because no one moved for several moments, until finally, the blonde cleared his throat.

"Hey…" He said simply, and that word alone seemed to inspire them.

All of them cheered in a hushed manner, grinning, and pleased with themselves for having the guts to make it up that hill and to seek their connection to the resistance.

Mikoto spoke to them, seemingly knowing almost all of them personally, "The other members will be joining us soon…" Her eyes swept over each and every face that stood before her, "Everyone… This is Zidane… He is our…" A rare grin grew on her face, "make or break object… In the war, and with this plan…"

He sighed, and scratched the back of his neck, almost shyly. He hated having that kind of pressure put on him, but it seemed as though he was just born to have it placed there. Though when he himself glanced at their faces, an expression of hope blossomed over them like the first day of Spring after a fresh rain… His eyes widened slightly, as he suddenly realized just how much of a beacon he was in this fighting world.

Suddenly, he had every urge to do better…

"Zidane, this is Frelly…" She first introduced him to a fat moogle, whose neck tuft of hair was grey instead of cream. He took of his hat, sliding it over the red ball connected to his head, and seemingly grinned, bending down in a bow.

"I'm honored to meet you!" He squeaked, stepping back respectively.

"This is Trari," a young woman with long auburn hair and stunning sapphire eyes stepped forward. Her face held the tired lines of someone who had experienced much, but her azure orbs still burned with wisdom past her years, and a will of fire to fight.

"A pleasure," she answered coolly, her swift, melodic, though sweet and soprano voice created an almost delectable mix.

"Those two blonde in the back are Gip and Rej…" They moved forward and shook his hand, obviously very pleased to meet him.

She continued on the list, but he could tell that those four were the most excited to be there. He learned later that Frelly was the fix it moogle – there wasn't a broken thing in the world who wouldn't cower back in his presence.

Trari was the illusionist. She was slick and careful, stealth in even her shadow. She held the high intelligence, and held more control over magic than Vivi was capable of, though it was a different kind… An illusionist was someone who basically could do magic tricks – just far more complicated, and dangerous as well…

Gip and Rej were the fighters. Gip, with his emerald green eyes, and Rej with his chocolate brown, both finished each others sentences, and were pretty friendly – they would fit in with the resistance just fine.

Once the rest of the crew arrived, all of the official things were gone over with the resistance. They didn't include any specific information, as who _knew_ just who they were – even Mikoto didn't know that much about them. They were also informed of all of the high up people who were involved in the resistance (except of course, Cid himself), and much more.

Baku was proud to be the temporary leader of so many, and he felt his duty to make sure they all didn't mess up their first plan. "Alright… Gip – I want you to play the role of Zidane… Our story is that we're training in new talent, and there's going to be an interesting spin on the play, perhaps including identity theft, or disease – we aren't sure yet…" They all murmured in agreement, though those who originally acted in the play could only roll their eyes.

"Trari, you will play the obvious role of Ruby. I know you don't look much like her, but you're both tall and skinny, and if you're as good at illusions as you say you are – you'll be able to match her appearance, and voice, and also help along everyone else as well." The girl nodded, not too interested in talking it over; she was ready to get the job done now.

"Rej, you're going to play Blank… Trari, you're going to _definitely_ need to help with this appearance, because Rej isn't a ginger –"

"Hey! It's not orange, it's _red_!" Blank growled, crossing his arms in a pissed off mood.

"And Blank is a midget compared to you." The boy said nothing, only leaned back and glared, "And Frelly, I want you to play the King – simply because you're going to have to do a lot of behind the scene sort of stuff…"

He assigned Marcus's roll to someone else as well, warning them that Marcus' role was not only hard to play – but also dangerous too. Shaking his head, he also gave Zenero's part away, not forgetting about how much he wished to help the crew.

It wouldn't provide Zidane with a lot of back up, but hopefully, it would be enough to ensure his safety…

He g lanced around at everyone, his eyes stony hard, "You guys listen to me…" Baku ordered, causing them all to turn and stare, "This isn't going to be a cake walk… And if any of you stupid shits want to get out alive, you better damn well learn your lines, and what to do… _And_ know what kind of line of action to use _if_ someone attacks the play."

Suddenly, Baku was more inspirational than he ever had been, "If we can pull this off… We're going to gain the advantage in the war, and finally stop this whole son of a bitch war…"

His words sunk in, and everyone was realizing for the first time, just how important those words were…

?

**A/N: Oh my god! It's been **_**forever**_** since I"ve updated! I'm so sorry! But I got major writer's block and just got so **_**busy**_**! I'm sorry! Bleh, you guys must hate me! Anyways, I'm going to bed after this I'm tired, so I apologize for any mistakes I made in the story… I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**-zesty-**


	40. Chapter 39: A Dangerous Façade

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 39: A Dangerous Façade**

"I hear they're doing a _special_ performance tonight… Those tickets are going to be _so_ hard to try and pick pocket off of someone."

"It's going to be amazing! I bought mine a week ago!"

"That Marcus is suuure something – I hope his role is just as good, with the changes I hear they're making."

"I wonder why that fellow playing Zeke isn't performing…" (okay, in the actual game, they use their names as characters – obviously I can't do that here, lol, but you can probably guess who's character is who's)

"He's such a wonderful actor, I couldn't tell you for sure…"

Zidane walked down the street, his cloak hood up, covering his face from being seen. They were going to spread the rumor that he was ill… Perhaps even more of a reason for Kuja to strike him down. Almost grinning, he was happy a lot of people were going to leave the city for the play. So all of the hype had worked – and actually _performing_ there before hand, had worked to their advantage as well.

He pushed open the doors to their hotel, and slowly made his way up the stairs. He didn't feel like he had to be in a huge rush… After all – that night's mission could be the _last_ night he ever spent living… Shuttering, he stopped and glanced up the long staircase leading to their two rooms.

Shaking his head, he continued. He shouldn't have been thinking about things like that… Not when the whole mission relied on his performance.

He wanted to talk to Dagger. His heart ached – there was nothing he wanted more in the world at that moment in time…

He pictured her chocolate eyes, and the way she had kissed him in front of everyone before he had departed on his mission. Closing his eyes as he tromped up the stairs, he wondered what she was doing right now… Actually, he worried about the well being of everyone…

He missed Vivi's questions, and catching Dagger's eyes, Beatrix's wise words, and Freya's competitive behavior... Hell – he even missed Steiner's glares, and he was hoping everyone was doing okay…

He wondered what those two newcomers were like, and if they were fitting in at all… He was curious to see their camp set up – Tantalus had been gone for almost a month – if not more (he lost track of the time a lot in Terra), and he yearned to see everyone dearly.

"Zidane…"

The voice broke through his reverie, and he watched on to see Blank exiting the room.

"Hey…" The blonde tried to muster a smile, but thinking that this could be his last private conversation with Blank really stressed him out.

"What's wrong?"

The blonde only shot him a look. Blank also tried his hand at a convincing smile, and though it was better than Zidane's, still really failed.

"If something happens –" Zidane started, but was cut off.

"Don't!" Blank looked away, and the blonde could have almost laughed at the dramatic moment both of them were unintentionally creating.

"Take care of Dagger, okay?" Zidane mustered a real smile then, and put a hand on his shoulder, "Everything is going to work out okay… You guys have worked too God damn hard in this war for Kuja to win…" He winked in encouragement, "So we aren't going to let him win…"

He thought for sure Blank mistook his _we_ for him believing that he was going to live… But after Blank's bored, and unconvinced face, the blonde thought otherwise. "Otherwise," He added with a true grin, "We'll just have to improvise…"

This time, his comment caused the shorter thief to smile, "Yeah well… That _is_ what we're best at…"

The blonde high fived him as they made their way into the rooms. Ruby was already getting ready, and Mikoto was watching as the guys tried to get their replacements into the best looking costumes.

"Ruby," Blank fussed, "There's no point in you getting ready – you aren't even performing…"

"Ya'll gotta look good while fightin' evil! Who knows who could be watchin'!" She tried to reason, but Blank only gave her a hollow stare. She huffed and went back to fixing her hair, mumbling that he just _wouldn't_ understand.

Baku threw himself against the adjoining door, and burst into the room. Mikoto glanced over, raising an eyebrow, "Was that really necessary?"

"Added effect…" He huffed; she didn't say anything more. "Zidane…" He grinned, "Come with me!"

The blonde glanced at his best friend in confusion, and after a shrug, he followed his leader. They went into the other room, where Marcus laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling, and Cinna was fumbling with some paper.

"So, I know we haven't had a lot of access to things like this… Even in Dali, we were scrambling for it…" He thrust some paper into his hand, "Not to be all dramatic… But since we're all clear in the open that something might happen…" His voice dropped down, "We got you some parchment and ink, just incase you'd like to write a few words…"

"Way to depress him," Marcus mumbled, seemingly being in an especially sour mood.

"No, no…" Zidane nodded, taking over the parchment, "Thank you…"

He sat down, and though for the last few weeks, he built up many things to say to people, he now didn't know what exactly to write. Finally putting the writing utensil to the paper, he worked out his sloppy, yet formal hand writing into words and appointed parts of the letter to people.

It seemed to take him forever to write it, and when he was finally done, and folded it all up, he glanced out the window to see the sun had disappeared. It was over the building now, which meant they would have to start planning for their mission now.

He puffed out a breath, and turned to see only Marcus remaining in the room, now rolled over and reading the newspaper about nothing really that interesting. Terra was a small homeland, but far in technology, much like Lindblum was…

The fact that he was using a city as powerful as Lindblum in past tense fueled him forward. He knew what he had to do, and _nothing_, not even death, would stop him…

?

"Hey… What's wrong?" Steiner's voice broke through her silent thoughts in a matter of moments, and she glanced around, dazed at first, and not sure where he was.

When she finally spotted him, she stiffened and shook her head, "Nothing's wrong…" She shrugged, "I can just feel it… something is going to be happening soon."

The knight glanced around, as though he could spot it if her words were true, "I don't feel anything…"

"It came with the instincts… My knights were always better trained, and better prepared than yours…" A smart remark was about to leak from his mouth, but he snapped his jaw and set it firm.

"You're probably right…"

"Come now, Steiner… I didn't say it to be rude…" She sighed, and turned to face him, the vulnerability showing on her face, "I'm afraid."

"Of what?" Immediately, concern rose in his voice as she sat hastily next to her.

"We could not even take on the dungeon peons of Alexandria… What makes us think we can take on Kuja? What made Tantalus think _they_ could?"

"Beatrix…" He spoke without a wavering tone – something she admired about him thoroughly. "Zidane probably isn't coming back."

"What?" She gasped, blinking and covering her mouth with her hands.

He shrugged, "It was to be expected, right? I think everyone – especially someone such as Cid – as thought about the advantages, disadvantages, and not to mention, the risks of using Tantalus as bait…" He shook his head, "He knew that if the plan worked out right, Kuja would be heading for them… They're skilled, but if Cid wanted to fight Kuja then and there, and have everyone survive – he would have sent more people…"

"If I would have known, I wouldn't have let them go!" She said hastily, "And Dagger –" She began to tack on, but Steiner wrapped her in a ginger hug.

"I don't know what will happen for sure…" He assured her (kind of?), and let on a rare Steiner-grin, "Besides, even though I hate the kid, he always has a way of surprising us…"

She let out one, lone laugh, before turning to the horizon, "I still feel it coming… Something isn't going to go like we've expected…" She shuttered as that triggered a thought, "Steiner?"

"Huh?"

"Keep Bronson away from Dagger, like you once tried to do with Zidane?" With that she stood up, her statement in the form of a question, and meandered away, hoping to be helpful in rebuilding some sort of shelter.

He wondered exactly what she meant by that, and decided he would have to keep a special eye out on this new threat… After all – when they came out of this war, Dagger would presumably be queen… And that would mean he would have the guard over Beatrix… He grinned.

Though they were now more allied than ever, possibly even diving into something serious like a relationship (probably not until the war was over, if it ever did end), it still felt good to finally have that right over her…

Shaking his head, he too stood to try and make himself useful. But now, his eyes were as wide as ever… trying to spot anything suspicious going on at camp…

?

"Do you believe the rest of the resistance is with then?" He asked her, hunger in his voice.

She shrugged and shook her head, "From the rumors that are spreading, I couldn't be sure… All we know, is that he's there…"

"I'll need to bring an army," he answered slowly. Glancing back at the woman, he realized she was the one he confided in now more than ever… She had been an excellent pick. "How would you like to take charge while I am away?"

"Take charge…?" She parroted, tilting her head in confusion. Her emerald eyes shone with confidence, but there was still that spike of hesitation.

"Perhaps in finding where the resistance has gone…" He nodded slowly, "We had a few of them in our clutches just outside Conde Petie… They couldn't have gone too far…"

"What would I do, if I found said members?"

"Order an attack of course…" She bit her lip as more hesitation took over her. He smirked evilly and walked towards her, his long silver hair swooshing on his back, "But perhaps you are yet too young… Why corrupt the innocence of a mere child?" He questioned with a puckered look, "I will have someone else lead the attack, but you could still lead the resistance…"

Relief fluttered over her features as she nodded, "I would be honored…"

He turned back around, his hands gripping the railing, feeling the gentle velvet of the plants outlining the room, "Excellent…" He nodded slowly.

She turned, ready to walk out of the room. He listened to her footsteps for a few moments, before he turned towards her, "When you leave…" That stopped her, "Call for Avalanch, would you?"

She nodded, "Yes, Lord Kuja…"

She walked out again, wondering if she was making a mistake. One glance out the window, and her blood began to boil. Why would _he_ take part in a world of destruction, when he had loved Alexandria just as much as her?

?

The clouds rolled lazily through the sky, blocking the sun for a few moments. During these moments, a cool breeze brushed up and flew against her cheek. The cold stung her cheeks, but she closed her eyes, knowing it would be gone in a few moments.

Everything was shrouded in a constant shadow without the sun, but just as she suspected, its rays began to peek out from behind the billowing cloud.

At first, the golden light only touched a few places, seeming more like lights than the sun. The longer she watched, the more things began to brighten, as though a star had fallen to earth.

She smiled when the whole world was back in pure light, but glanced down at the suede grass tickling her skin. Though the world was serene right now, what was happening in Terra?

"Dagger…" His voice was low and caring, and she knew that even if Zidane didn't come back, he'd be here…

She turned away though, wishing to be alone. Already once, Steiner had tried to approach her, and she provoked his leave.

"Dagger…" He tried again, as he sat next to her. She curled her legs closer to her chest, and rested her chin on her knees.

"Hello, Bronson…" She nodded slowly, not sure whether she should talk to him or not. Their last conversation ended with a slight anger bubbling inside of her. How dare anyone who not know how pure hearted and kind Zidane could be, judge him?

"What are you doing up here, all alone?" He questioned, leaning back and glancing over the landscape.

"Being alone," she answered simply, but didn't offer up a light smile. She kept looking on to the horizon, as though waiting for something to happen.

"Waiting for that ship?" He questioned, and for the first time, she glanced at him in slight shock. He nodded, "I asked around, for exactly what might be bothering you… The high ups don't enjoy telling me once, and Steiner threatened to break my face," He laughed lightly, cautiously, "But the grunts… They told me about Tantalus… What a feat their doing right now."

"They're all very brave… Some of my best friends are over there… And some of them might not come back…"

"I know that feeling, you know?" He sighed and looked at her, his blonde hair wavering over his forehead, in the typical cut for a knight.

"Have you felt it ever since you were young? Have you been stuck in this war, thrust into leadership you never wanted, just because of your title?" She gripped the grass, breaking it from its perch, "I don't want to be here anymore… I want everyone to be happy – to stop fighting… I just want peace…"

"Peace cannot be achieved without fighting…"

"That's an awful way to think…"

After her last statement, their conversation went quiet. Every thought she had lead back to Zidane, and how he would tell her he wished there could be peace too… He would tell her of his time in Alexandria, and though he didn't like the mages, and Kuja quite frankly creeped him out, he was happy with his friends… Waking up to a world of destruction, deceit, and fighting was hard. He had done such a good job though…

"I…" He started, not sure if she was too angry for him to continue, but he tried anyways, "I wanted to apologize for my earlier assumptions…"

"What?" Her tone came off harsh, but she stared at him in awe and confusion.

"I should not have spoken of this brave hero, Zidane, like he was a vermin spy… Vivi has been with him longer than any, and many this Tantalus has spoken higher about him to other people, than I could have ever imagined. It was a silly thing to say…"

A breath she didn't know she was holding escaped her then, and a smile slowly grew on her lips. It seemed contagious, as she spotted a grin on Bronson's handsome face as well. "Thank you, for saying that…" She looked away, a little sheepishly, "You don't know how much that bothered me…"

He laughed, "I know I'm grateful I wasn't taken as a spy… at least not to my face… A safety precaution of course…"

She laughed, but offered up no answer. Talking to him had lightened her mood, and yet there was still something bubbling inside the back of her mind that unsettled her… Something was going to happen, but she didn't know what…

She just hoped everyone in the Tantalus was safe.

?

Zidane breathed out, watching the sun move onto the brink of the horizon. Its rays shot out, and reflected off of the many crystals and buildings, and he was grateful this might be the last thing he ever saw peacefully.

He wondered if Kuja would really try to kill him. He figured that all of the dreamers were so tight under his grasp, that if one was let out – he would definitely have to be terminated…

"Hey…" He turned to meet Blank's face, a scowl etched onto it as he crossed his arms. Zidane smirked at the carelessness of his nature, but knew the façade he was holding up.

"Hey…" Zidane nodded, turning all the way around, and mocking the pose of his best friend.

"You ready to rumble?"

"Have been for a while," He winked and moved forward, as they slowly descended down the stairs.

"Yeah?" Blank poked, his tone light, but gruff, "Then why did I have to walk all the way upstairs to come and get you?"

"Taking a breather I guess," Zidane shrugged, though the grin was never swiped off of his face.

Blank shook his head, "You seem pretty nonchalant for someone who could die."

"It's for a greater cause… You seem pretty nonchalant for someone who's about to see his best friend die?" It was more a joke than anything, but it sobered Blank's playful mood.

"Because you aren't going to die, and I wholeheartedly believe that… Marcus had to have thought of _something_…" He was quiet for a moment, "He's smarter than everyone, except maybe Cinna, even if he doesn't act it."

They snickered quietly for a moment, and turning around the last piece of staircase, they saw the rest of their team there. "What about me?" Cinna hastily asked, only receiving goofy grins from his two teammates.

Zidane stayed up on the stairs, watching everyone communicate with each other. Blank was loyally waiting for him, Ruby was off in the corner, trying to pretend she didn't care, when clearly there were tears in her eyes. Being the only girl to tag along with the Tantalus, she was probably the bravest he knew… For no one else felt the same dire emotion that she did, when faced with possibly losing a comrade.

Baku waited patiently by the door, knowing this would be the hardest walk Zidane would ever have to take. He held all data received here, the names of people who wished to join, maps, Zidane's letter, ticket sales, and everything else, with him securely, and the blonde knew he would never let anyone get a hold of it.

Marcus was chewing some unknown substance, leaned up against the wall, arms crossed, with one foot planted solidly against the building barrier.

Cinna was just as ridiculous as ever, giving both him and Blank a hard stare. It wasn't over the current situation, but rather trying to see just what they had been laughing about after speaking his name.

Zenero was probably, in Zidane's eyes, the bravest of them all right now. After that vicious battle in Dali, and losing his twin brother, he knew that the remaining twin must have been hurting. He was still willing to jump into the fight and do the best he possibly could, even though he knew what he knew…

"Everybody…" the word slipped before he could stop himself, and now his whole team – his best friends were staring at him. He could only muster a small smile, and sigh, "Thank you…"

They all smiled back, and Ruby came and gave him a hug. He knew it wasn't going to be an emotional thing, as they all marched at that building…

The city was quiet, everyone already off to await the beginning of the performance. And now, Zidane watched as everyone he needed to support him in his time of need fled for cover, ready to come out whenever the blonde needed it.

And now the Genome stood in the middle of the street, staring, and waiting… This was a dangerous façade they were playing…

And Zidane didn't know if they were going to win…

**A/N:**

**I know it's been a long time, and I thank anyone who has stayed with me. Writers block for this story hit me, and I didn't know when I could pull myself back out… But I think that turned out okay?**

**I really hope you're enjoying the story, and now it's picking up… which I cannot wait for! :) I'm really glad I still have some followers and loyal readers… This is my longest story I have, and probably every will write, with the most intricate plot I've ever tried to attempt…**

**So I thank everyone bearing with me! And I hope I'm providing some level of enjoyment!**

**-zesty-**


	41. Chapter 40: Organized Chaos

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**A/N: No excuses, but a review from an anonymous person did inspire me to write :) thank you!**

**Chapter 40: Organized Chaos**

_And now the Genome stood in the middle of the street, staring, and waiting… This was a dangerous façade they were playing…_

_And Zidane didn't know if they were going to win…_

When the anticipation of the first long moment of silence ended, Zidane's shoulders relaxed a little. He was still very on edge, but at least now he had some breathing time.

Part of him didn't want it though – he wished that Kuja would just come, and get the killing over with… But that made him wonder – would the man even kill him? Vivi hadn't been slaughtered on the spot, but perhaps the man was too furious with Zidane and Vivi's efforts to keep them around… Or maybe Vivi was stronger, and more valuable.

As he pondered these thoughts, he wondered about Elouise and Griffon, his two best friends in the world besides Blank… Who knew if he would ever see them again… Maybe when he was dead, he would finally get all of his questions answered.

Death… a word he had heard so many times, and yet now, cowered away whenever it came up in his mind. His emotions were jerky, as he suddenly glared in anger, furious that the word scared him.

He waited there for what seemed like hours, or perhaps even _days_. The black mages suspiciously followed the Tantalus out of the city, wondering if they were going to try and display some sort of disturbing, side-turning, anti-Kuja type thing. The blonde scoffed, almost disgusted that they were so easily fooled.

And as he began to pace, he somehow knew he heard it coming. It started very faintly, and he didn't want to believe it. But soon, it got louder, more noticeable, and then finally, it came into sight.

Just as they had all thought it would, there was Kuja's ship, soaring through the air.

In the bright windows, you could see the silhouette of a person – arrogance swirling around his very figure. Zidane nodded, knowing now he would have to be at the top of his game: he would have to be able to focus and win.

It took a long while, and the Genome twice started to turn and take off on a dead sprint. His instincts were forcing him to move, but his mind knew he had to stay put. Finally, once the ship was landed, not far in the distance, crushing some small homes, a whole army seemed to slowly leak out of the aircraft like a visible, airborne disease.

"Kuja!" He yelled before he could stop himself, "You couldn't take me on yourself! So you brought your entire army!"

This fueled the man to move faster. _Good_ – _best to get it over with…_

"Dreamer!" He yelled, though his voice was surprisingly mellow, but also hallow, and it sent chills down the blonde's back. "Why do you break away? Why, as you watched when you fled that day, that you're glorious Alexandria was crumbled, did you not wish to avenge those who had fallen!"

"I'm avenging them, by helping those who are going to take you down!" A low, dark laugh began, and slowly built, until Kuja threw his head back and laughed outright. Even those in his army shifted and glanced at each other.

"Do you really think you're efforts can stop me? My dear boy – how could you possibly _stop_ me, when I caught _you_ in my grasps _years_ ago! My power is peaking now! There is no way that you'd be able to stop!"

"That doesn't mean I'm not going to try…" Zidane growled, standing firmer in his place now than he had moments before.

"You're a fool! Why do you resist what cannot be resisted, instead of joining and flourishing!"

"I would rather suffer five lifetimes, then help those who kill for no reason, take control over things that aren't theirs, and have no mercy on those who might falter!" His words sounded foreign to him, but he could tell they were having an impact.

Though Kuja must have believed Zidane couldn't see it, soldiers were sneaking across buildings – trying to surround the one man army of the dreamer. Kuja also didn't notice that slowly, these soldiers were being picked off by the stubbed amounts of blue magic that Ruby knew, and the traps that were set up.

"You are a fool…" The words were a hiss on the wind, and Zidane took a step back, intimidation spreading over his body. "Destroy him!" the order boomed, ringing through the air for a split second before those who could, charged.

And now, the blonde would be put to the biggest test of his life…

Kuja himself didn't directly attack Zidane. He must have thought he was still too good for that. The Genome exhaled a few times before the first soldiers descended upon him; he knew he'd have to fight for a long time before reinforcements came… Plus, he had to lure all he could away from the ship – that was, after all, their main goal. As the first wave hit, he slashed mightily through the air with his dagger, spinning and jumping over each soldier, throwing them down as quickly as he could manage.

Landing safely on the ground, he dropped low, smelling the fresh dust being stirred. Two soldiers stuck swords into each other above him, and when they started to crash down, he rolled out of the way. Throwing his dagger into his tail, it stuck sneakily into an unsuspecting man, and then he rolled again. As his tail wrapped around him, he grabbed the dagger and hopped instinctively up, spinning and swiping a few guys off of their feet. With both hands on the dagger now, he poked it dangerously, into the faces of a few men.

They screamed and toppled over, their shrieks bone chilling as some of their comrades tried to back off without being noticed. Somewhere beyond the wave of men, Kuja was yelling furiously, obviously in a rage simply because the dreamer wouldn't go down.

But the blonde couldn't keep focused on Kuja, as another few men tried to come at him, this time from all different sides. Three men behind him tried to trap him by knocking a wooden pole on top of him, and the two in front of him were engaged in a sword fight.

Zidane glanced behind him and grinned, knowing how he would play out this act. As the pole finally fell, he took a grand leap, and grabbed the shoulders of the soldier in front of him. Flipping over the man, he kicked his legs into the face of the one standing behind him, and shoved the prior backwards. The pole landed on him, and missed Zidane only by a few inches.

He was not going down without a fight…

?

Blank skid to a stop, watching as Zidane took down a few soldiers with a pole. "Nice!" He breathed with a grin. Things were going better than expected.

Feeling his teammates fly by him, he picked up his pace once more, and watched as Ruby tried to keep herself steady, while taking out as many soldiers, as discreetly as she could. At one point, while running along a thin plank to the next building, she slipped.

Knowing not to blow their cover, she squeezed her eyes shut, but Blank slipped behind her and grabbed her hand. He smirked sheepishly at her as she dangled, before he easily hoisted her back up onto the edge. Their exchange was completely silent, but suddenly, a fondness for the girl swelled in him.

Rolling his eyes, and thinking something about being an over-emotional girl sometimes, he tried to run and glance down at his best friend at the same time. He was doing well, though more and more men kept charging towards him. He wondered how long Zidane would be able to keep it up.

As they crossed the buildings as silently as they could, though Blank didn't want to admit it, he was scared. His heart was pounding, and he was losing his breath far faster than he should have. But this was intense – this was a matter of life and death… They didn't have backup to come after them, as Zidane and himself had had in Alexandria that night…

He forced himself to keep moving, tearing his eyes away from the one-man battle below. He didn't want to think about it.

Glancing ahead, he saw Marcus maneuvering silently and swiftly. He looked so calm, the youngest on the Tantalus couldn't understand how he could keep it together so well. But Marcus was the one with the plan… right?

?

Zidane's breath caught in his throat. It had been almost an hour of constant fighting, and he had no chance for a break. He tried to move back, no longer able to see his team running around the edges of the city. Another slice to his arm, and he stumbled back. Though he was still taking many down – groups of people verses one thief was too hard.

Flipping back, and flinging the small knife from his boot at the nearest enemy, he took off in the other direction, coaxing battle cries from Kuja's loyal soldiers. He skidded around the corners into alleys, and up onto buildings. Tantalus would have enough sense to hide if they heard what was going on – so he wasn't really worried about breaking their cover.

Trying to find a place to escape into, for just a moment of peace, he continued running on the roof tops, until he spotted an open window. Jumping down onto a thin ledge, he leapt for the opening, rolling on the ground as he stumbled inside.

All was quiet for a moment, as he laid there, breath sucked into him, to stay completely quiet. He prayed he was close enough to the wall, or far out of range so they didn't see him as they passed. The cries lifted and fell, and he knew, until they figured out that he had dodged them, he was safe.

For a few more minutes, he lay there, knowingly bleeding, but sucking in as much oxygen as he could. Sweat beaded down his face, and his eyes flickered under his lids. Finally, they creaked open, and he flexed his muscles.

The area was dark, and part of his mind swept over the play, and what part they would be performing right now, and just how good it actually was without the real group there… Sitting up, his recognized a familiar set up.

It wasn't until a few minutes after that he realized he was back in the place he'd been weeks earlier. He was calmer now, about being there… Thinking about his own house, and the death of his parents was frightening, but it would be to anyone who, up until those moments, hadn't remembered them…

Moving about, he realized he had accepted this fate, or was simply numb from battle. He didn't have much time, but he wished to explore the house he so eagerly fled from before.

Pushing open a door, he glanced around at the various, rotting pieces of furniture within. There was a small bed, with a torn and burned blanket, while glass was scattered across the cold carpet. He looked on the shelf, seeing pictures of faces he couldn't remember, but felt some familiarity to. Shaking his head, he turned away, the blonde woman's eyes haunting him from the memory.

Some toys were still strewn out on the floor, and he glanced at them, trying to gather their details without actually touching them. One resembled an airship, another: a bermecian dancer with an, what appeared to be, Alexandria knight. Things that (assuming this was his own room) probably seemed surreal and unrealistic to him when so young, being so far away. But now, he yearned for things like Bermecia and Alexandria – things he had come to know more about than his own homeland.

He heard noises on the streets below, and glanced up, understanding that his time was up. Though it haunted him, he hit a picture frame against the wall, of what appeared to be himself, but _much_ younger, with an older blonde man and woman. He wished still, to see more of the house, and rushed into the hall.

The space not in a room was colder, and drearier – for at least in the rooms it seemed more like a dream than anything else. Hurrying across the hall and into the next room, he immediately spotted a large bed, and a tipped over nightstand. The closet seemed like it was ripped into, and he began rummaging around it in curiosity. When he pressed closer to the wall, his foot creaked over a floorboard. Tilting his head, he reached down and felt, knowing there was an obvious cut out in the floor. Trying to get a grip, and ripping it up, he saw a few things inside.

Plenty of money, from all different places, and definitely items that, to Zidane, didn't seem like much, but if they were hidden, he knew they must have had some value to the family. In there, was a small box. As he heard more yelling outside, he was torn to leave, but something was urging him to continue his investigation.

Carefully lifting the lid, he saw inside, two golden rings. One had some sort of beautiful gem in the middle, the other, simply had carvings on the sides. If Zidane was suspecting correctly, they were wedding rings, and he figured that if Kuja planted his mages in Terra early enough, they must have wanted to hide them, incase soldiers raided their house.

The one other thing in that box, was a golden necklace. It wasn't feminine in anyway, and yet, he felt like he had to have belonged to his mother. Pulling it out, he saw a deep sapphire color, glinting in the dim light from the window. His thief-personality kicked in as he grinned, safely storing all three pieces of precious jewelry in a safe place on his being. He would have something to show of his parents now – so they weren't forgotten again.

As the noises became louder, he knew it was time to go, and quickly threw himself through the window, landing, scaling a building. It didn't take long for scouts to spot him, and yelling erupted from below.

Zidane figured it was time to go back to the original scene, and distract Kuja. Enough games… He was going to completely his mission as bait, even if it was the last thing he ever did…

?

"Where's Zidane?" Blank whispered harshly, body pressed tightly against the wall. His eyes jerked from one place to the next, and his chest puffed out and in quicker than it should have.

"Shhh!" Cinna and Marcus simultaneously hushed him, and he pouted. Dammit, if Zidane was hurt, he didn't want to be hidden anymore.

So far, they had done a good job of fooling Kuja – Zidane was putting up a well enough fight that they really did believe he was alone. Unfortunately, with Kuja still standing in his safe spot at the edge of the boarding ramp to his ship, they could go no further.

Zidane had to reel him out, otherwise their mission couldn't go any further than this…

A sudden cry had Blank on edge as he whipped his head in the other direction, straining his eyes and craning his neck to try and see.

"Kuja! You're a fool! You pretend that your rule over the world is a good one! That people will eventually fall to you, and stop fighting!" The blonde's voice carried boldly across the distance of himself and Kuja.

The soldiers hadn't found their way back through the maze of the city, but their cries weren't too far off.

For a moment, Kuja's face puckered as though he had tasted something sour and bitter, both at the same time. But swift control quickly returned to his features, a small smile dawning upon his lips.

"You silly boy…" He walked forward a few steps, raising his hands from his sides in a godly motion. "You realize why I captured you, correct?" A sigh escaped his lips as his feet crunched over rubble from a nearby building. "You are a dreamer… Nothing more – nothing less… Do you see what you are to these people? A power weapon! Without you, they would have been smothered by now…" He shook his head, "And you, and that young black mage are alone… No one understands what you're going through – nobody cares for anything but winning the war…"

He stopped, staring Zidane straight in the eyes, throwing a hand up to halt the oncoming soldiers from attack. This simple gesture told them that this would be Kuja's fight now, through words, and if needed, through strength. They lowered their swords and staffs, knowing they wouldn't fight again.

"They're fighting for what they believe in – they're fighting for what's right!" Zidane came back strongly, narrowing his eyes into slits, as he gripped the hilt of his dagger harder. His knuckles were beginning to turn white.

"And using you to get there? Zidane, in Alexandria you were _happy_! You could have been on your way to Lindblum writing plays –"

"_What the fuck is this guy talking about?_" Blank snarled, anger rising in his throat. Baku slapped a hand on his shoulder.

"We have to wait and see what happens…" He whispered, eyes wide with confusion and concern.

"Zidane, you had friends! _Best_ friends…" The Genome froze, wondering if Kuja knew Elouise and the others.

"How do you know this?"

"Boy, it was my world…" He nodded slowly, "The others still believe they're in it… Tell me – wouldn't you want that? You were so happy, and your friends were there for you – would _never_ use you as bait!" He grinned now, smirking as though he had the whole game figured out.

Zidane had to restrain himself from stumbling back. Did this man know their whole plan? But then why was he still pressing forward, testing how far Zidane would hold his ground.

And now, the question that had been eating away at him since that very first moment where he stumbled blindly away from guards, and towards his old friends – a thief, princess in disguise, and two former knights, resurfaced itself.

"Where is Elouise?"

To that, Kuja smiled, taking another step forward.

?

**A/N: Wow! That took me long enough! I actually ended up liking where I went with their conversation! I know it was kind of random, that chunk with Zidane in his own house, but I needed to through it in there, and I know you didn't want a whole chapter of fighting :D**

**Here will be the big climax! What will Zidane choose to do? :D I hope you guys enjoyed! Please review!**

**-zesty-**


	42. Chapter 41: The Great Game

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 41: The Great Game**

"_Where is Elouise?"_

_To that, Kuja smiled, taking another step forward._

Zidane waited for an answer, heart beating in his throat. That smirk on the bastard's face said everything… The blonde didn't need to wait for an answer.

"What did you do with her?" He demanded, eyes fierce as he shot forward.

His body moved without his mind as he charged towards Kuja, breaking rubble under his feet, fire in his eyes as he charged. Rain slowly began to patter the city, and Kuja glanced up to watch the drops begin to pour down.

Zidane never even noticed the rain, evaporating as soon as it hit his hot skin as he continued to run. As he closed the distance between them, Elouise's face flashed through his mind, the dreams he'd had about her asking for help, the fire in his heart when he learned she'd killed everyone in his dreams…

But pain washed over him when he remembered her smile, bewildered anger when he was being a dumb ass, and the concerned look that had washed over her beautiful porcelain face when he had seen her, that last day in the dream Alexandria.

He glared back tears as he finally reached Kuja, blowing the back of his knife into the man's stomach. He had partially dodged, so the blow wasn't as big, but he flew back, though landing on his feet.

His eyes narrowed now too, the red above them seeming all the more menacing. He flipped his hair over his shoulders and shook his head, "Show me your fear… Show me your anger and hurt…" He smirked, eyes flickering with taunt.

Zidane charged once more, screaming as he blindly slashed through the air with his dagger. Easily, Kuja dodged his rage, grin growing all the wider, the faster the thief began to breathe.

"Where is she? What did you tell her?" He demanded, continuously swiping at the man.

"_What's he doing?_" This time, it was Baku who hissed, watching along with his wide-eyed team at the normally cool and collected Zidane, kind hearted and outgoing, quickly tire from his air battle with Kuja. He was huffing and puffing, eyes glimmering, hair flying rapidly around him, and his movements sloppy and unstable.

Blank watched as fury overtook his best friend, emotions running wilder than he had ever seen in his life. A few times he heard yells of 'where's Elouise', but Blank hadn't heard the rest of the conversation… He had no idea what Zidane was screaming about.

As they pushed back towards the soldiers, each one just _wishing_ they could lash out and capture Zidane at that moment, something clicked in Cinna's brain.

"Guys, this is our chance… We go now, or possibly not get another chance…"

They glanced at each other. Carry out their mission, or keep an eye on their friend's life. What could they do?

As they contemplated, Kuja kept side stepping Zidane's attacks, but he began to get bored – the blonde's persistence irritating him. With one quick swipe, an ice attack slammed into Zidane's chest, causing him to fall to the ground, tripping over piles of jagged rocks.

His being ached as he lay upon the ground, staring up at the sky and for the first time noticing the rain. The drops hit him, causing him to blink when they got too close to his eyes. He watched the grey clouds roll over them, unconcerned with what was going on beneath them. The soldiers were silent, more focused on the fight than the wellbeing of anyone, and he wondered for a moment where the rest of his team was.

That's when it hit him. He replayed the fight so far in his mind, and realized that getting angry wasn't going to help anything. Saving Elouise from this man was important, no doubt, but he had other responsibilities too. He had to start thinking smart.

Leaning back on his shoulders and hands, he flung his legs and jumped up, tail catching the hilt of his dagger and tossing it back into his hands. He growled, and charged forward, playing into Kuja's game, but knowingly doing so.

The man threw a fireball towards the Genome, but he flattened himself against the ground, blowing air from his mouth into the dirt. When he saw his breath, he realized an ice attack was coming, and leapt as far as he could in the air. With as much adrenaline that was rushing through his body, he hung suspended for a few moments, legs dangling beneath him in an attempt to find solid ground.

He slammed hard into a pile that probably used to be a wall, and glanced up, only to be struck with waterga spell. He gulped in breath and swam through it, throwing himself out and latching onto Kuja.

He wrestled around with the man for a moment, before they fell to the ground and began to wrestle and roll. A rise flew up from the soldiers and fell again as they shuffled to get closer. Some of them didn't even like Kuja – some didn't even care who won… And some, surprisingly enough (and probably captured a long time ago) hoped for Zidane's victory.

"I want to know what you did with Elouise…"

"Even if you did find her –" Kuja began, shoving the blonde up and off, and sprouting magic to push him back, creating distance, "- she would hate you for what you and your foul allegiance did to Alexandria!"

Something inside Zidane flickered then. He was still calm – aware of what he was doing, and not seeing red. But this was different. Pent up energy seemed to leak through his veins, and he seemed to _breathe_ power. Glancing down at his hands, he saw a purplish glow emitting from his arm. Shifting his eyes, he saw his own shock mirrored in Kuja, and he heard gasps from the soldiers behind them.

Zidane's rage triggered something, and that something was giving him the energy to move forward. Breaking into a run, he barely saw things moving at a blur beside him. Gasping at his own strength, his body moved quicker than his mind and threw the dagger at an unsuspecting Kuja. With near perfect accuracy, it sliced his side, crimson red pooling on his fair skin.

His eyes broke from Zidane and looked down at his own skin. He curiously touched his side, as though he'd never seen blood fall from his own body before. The blonde looked just as surprised, but covered faster as he raced forward in an attempt to swipe down the man once more.

His breath felt clean, despite the situation, as the air rushed past him, exhilaration blasting him forward. Slamming into Kuja, they both flew backwards. As Zidane's left shoulder skidded across the pavement, they hit a pile of trash and flipped, Kuja's back rubbing against the hard ground now.

Wrestling for a few moments, the older man threw a thrashing Zidane off of him, who easily landed on his feet. Before Kuja had any time to move, Zidane was summoning up power, eyes glowing almost so brightly he could no longer see the blue hue around his dilated pupils.

And then it happened. The orb of raw power and emotion built up in Zidane's unwavering hands was blasted, and Kuja's eyes lit up due to the brilliance of the attack, before he was thrown backwards. A hasty shield was thrown in front of him, though it couldn't absorb all of the impact.

As he landed back on the ground, his body flinched in protest to heavy movement. Okay, he was getting bored… It was time to snuff out the light this dreamer was creating, permanently.

His clothing began to ruffle, and his hair lifted off the small of his back, shoulder blades, and eventually neck. Grinning like a mad man, Kuja built up his own power (though more like a spell and less raw) and threw it at Zidane.

The blonde was tired, not understanding where all of that energy had come from. He'd lost the magenta hue around him, and was currently struggling to stay upright as the energy blasted into him. With a yell, he was thrown backwards, landing hard on his back, and cracking his head on a pile of rocks.

He felt warm in his hair, and putting a hand to his head and pulling it away confirmed the fact that he was bleeding heavily. Even as he wobbly stood up, a pool of blood had started on the concrete-like mixture.

A freezing ice spell was shot towards him, and it spread its tendrils up his leg like hot breath chased away frost on a chilled window.

Painfully, it froze him to the spot, no matter how much he tugged at his leg. It seemed to only painfully twist his knee, to the point where he had to stop in fear of snapping his limb completely off.

"You think that power would stay?" Kuja spat on the ground, and Zidane's panic surfaced truly, for the first time since learning he might die. "You entered a trance, Zidane Tribal… and you had absolutely no idea how to use it!"

_Trance? What the fuck is that?_ He wondered as he tried to slither out of this horrid situation. He glanced at his surroundings, wondering if his friends were to be his guardian angels today. As fire licked at his bruised arm, he truly doubted the ladder.

Kuja's insane laugh filled the sky. Though Zidane's life could end here, he understood exactly why it was ending. Normally, this enemy was always – and he really meant _always_ – cool, calm, and collected… Zidane's strike that first drew blood – maybe in the man's entire life – had scared him. Someone had the power to prove he wasn't immortal, and he knew he'd have to rid the world of that proof.

"You were a fool to come here alone!" At least he didn't know about the other Tantalus members, "Why you thought bringing me here only to kill you was a wise decision is beyond my knowledge completely!"

"That's why…" Zidane nodded his head forward, a smirk planted on his lips. The man's eyes widened as he whipped around, robe around his waist softly hitting his legs on the spin.

With hair fallen over his shoulder, he slowly, and agonizingly looked up, shock (and maybe a little amazement) sweeping over his features.

There, moving into the sky, was the Invincible, its rich designs slowly pulling into the air. Zidane's face seemed to bright upon seeing it, as it easily floated above the buildings, out of the reach of any of the soldier's weapons.

Kuja's eyes seemed to flash red, "_What?_" He bellowed, whipping around to Zidane.

"I guess I'm wiser than you thought, you know… since I didn't come alone." He knew that comment would probably cost him his life, but he figured since he was already dead, why not just speed up the process. The mission was complete, and that's all the blonde cared about.

Suddenly, Kuja's hand was around his throat, so-cold-it-felt-hot pins were pricking Zidane in his neck as the man's hand tightened his hold.

"You are nothing but a war tool…" He spat, and Zidane glanced down as it hit his shoe. Suddenly, a fist slammed into his face, and he fell over, leg making a sickening snap. After that, the ice quickly melted, fire blazing around them. Where it came from, the blonde wasn't sure in his dazed state, but his eyes watered as pain stung every inch of his body.

"You are nothing to anyone… Especially not the girl you once knew… The petite blonde one – she is a _fine_ young woman!" Zidane's vision swam. One fire suddenly became a whole eyeful, and one Kuja suddenly became multiple. His pain seemed not to come from only his snapped (he figured) leg, but all over his body as the fire hissed and would touch him sometimes, as though taunting him – playing with him.

"And you are especially nothing to that Princess of yours…" He kicked at Zidane then, and soon, the fire wasn't as bright anymore, the world dimming around him.

_This is it…_ _I'm going to die…_

The fate sunk in as time seemed to move in slow motion. He saw Kuja's lips move, but could not make out the words. Slowly, he came to accept it, as he watched the ship fly above them…

But he would have rather liked to see all of his friends again, even if it was just one last time…

?

"Are you sure we should completely leave him? That fight looks like it was about to get angry!"

No one answered him, and Cinna found himself glancing backwards, truly wondering if he was really needed to fly the ship. He face palmed – wishing more people knew how to fly those damned things so he could go back and check on the blonde.

"It won't take long…" But no one seemed to be sure.

The last thing they saw with their friend was that he was taking aimless swings at his enemy, not using any of the skill he'd acquired since he'd come back to them – or even before he'd returned as well.

Blank gnawed his lip as they raced forward. Now that all of the guards were occupied with the fight, and they were no longer in plain sight before the whole army, they could run freely, as long as they didn't make _too_ much noise.

Kuja wasn't dumb, however, just not prepared. He left a few guards with the ship – a safety precaution and nothing else… Though there were enough to halt an unconcerned civilian in their tracks, there wasn't enough to stop Tantalus from crashing their party.

Cleverly, Blank (being the smallest), and Marcus (being the most stealthy) rolled across the street, landing on the other side of the wall, and poking their heads out to watch for any movement.

Though it didn't seem like much of a threat was inside, they had to be careful…

That reminded Blank – Marcus still hadn't informed them of his plans to rescue Zidane. He flinched as he heard a noise from further back – rubble crashing violently into each other. He prayed the blonde was okay – they needed to get back there as soon as possible.

Suddenly, with a flying dagger (Zenero's specialty), one guard was silently taken out, his yelp slashed into a gurgle before it could provoke attention.

Unfortunately, his crash to the floor was a bit less graceful, and all other guards whipped around, their hair standing up, nerves on edge. When they saw a whole bandit group emerge from seemingly the _walls_ before them, they immediately lost it.

Some surrendered immediately, but others tried to fight, only to get easily shot down. Soon, everyone was unconscious on the ground – Tantalus not speaking a word to each other.

"Come on! This way!" Cinna was the first to shatter the silence, and coaxed them onto the ship as they suddenly pounded their way down the corridors. It was spacious, but easy to get lost if they weren't careful.

"Where are you leading us!" Baku panted, far behind the fast sprinters of the group.

"We're going to the control center, and getting out of here before Kuja suspects this as a trap!"

"Before Zidane gets killed…" Blank didn't forget to add that in subtly.

They all stopped short, slamming a hand over Cinna's mouth when he was about to speak. In the control center, a hefty amount of guards were all laughing over a drink. They didn't seem to be the normal sky-monkey guards that were down below…

These were Alexandrian soldiers. Blank caught a glimpse of a general's cloak, and knew this must be some elite group that decided not to go out with the thugs of the army. "What do we do?" He whispered harshly.

Suddenly, Marcus glanced at Ruby and a sly smirk came onto his face. Blank narrowed his eyes – he just didn't like that look. "You love to act Rube, right?"

She smirked, "What can I assist you with?"

"Go in there and charm those boys…" Blank had to restrain himself from letting a snarl rip from his throat. "Get them close enough in the hall so we can easily pick all of them off at once, okay?"

"Got it!" She nodded determinedly, and stumbled out into the open.

Immediately, though the boys couldn't see it, swords were drawn. "Who the hell are you?" Someone demanded.

"Why, I was stumblin' back home after that play…" It made sense that people might travel from the continent that Terra was so close to for a play – luckily she was in the attire to fit the part. "I was only tryin' to find my way," She panted, eyes going large, as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. She made a point to let her sleeve fall, and slowly put it back up, covering the small portion of her bra that was peeking out.

She shook her head tiredly, "But these nasty men started chasin' me, faster than a hare tryin' to taunt that tortoise!"

"What are you doing in here then?" He commanded gruffly.

"Once they saw me a'comin', they started runnin' and I took flight like a startled chocobo! Please won't you fine gentleman help a lady out…" She ushered towards the door, a distressed look swiping over her, "I've just got to find my way back out – I hoped going further in would help me to find someone! I just wanted to get home and find my baby darlin'… He was sick, but my honey still wanted me to go to that forsaken play! I was so worried I had to head home to check on him!"

The one bearing the general's cape sighed frustrated, but it seemed he couldn't resist Ruby's charm.

"What's your name?"

"Charlotte, sir."

"Well, _Charlotte_," even though it wasn't her real name, none of the Tantalus liked the way Ruby's alias rolled off his tongue. "Come along, we'll help you…"

"Oh thank you!" She pranced from the room, though cautiously, as though she didn't know what was coming for her.

She passed the boys without as much as a stiffen, and slowly, the soldiers emerged as well. Simultaneously, they were knocked by hilts of daggers, and all seemed to make the same noise as they hit the floor. The sound of their armor clattered off the walls, and Zenero had to cover his sensitive ears to stop the sound from deafening him.

Ruby glanced back at the men on the ground, "I sure am glad that wasn't actually happenin'!" Blank smiled and pulled her gently forward, though she did notice he never made a point to drop her hand until they were at their control stations.

"Is this thing already ready to fly?" Marcus said, glancing up, dark eyes bright now, in the midst of planning an escape.

"All we need to do is start it – but who knows how loud it might be." Cinna began flipping things on and off, Baku mirroring his movements at a station nearby.

"At this point, it doesn't really matter," Their leader said with a nod of his head.

The redhead ran to the window, trying to scan the area in hopes of finding the battle. Through the tall buildings, giant crystals and mushrooms, and perhaps a tree or two, he could barely make out small dots moving about in a rapid motion. Though above it all, he could see a fire flicking, and frost shooting up from the ground, but the intricate style of the city blocked much else.

"We need to get moving…" Blank's eyes filled with worry as he turned towards Marcus, now about to ask what was going to happen, "What's the plan?"

The taller thief stood looking straight forward, wondering if he should answer the redhead. He'd never had a plan to save Zidane, but he had hoped that the blonde could hold on long enough for them to catch him on their way out. Either way – he would be damned if he let Kuja get the body.

"We're going to swoop in and take him out of the fight… dead or alive…"

Ruby latched onto Blank's arm. He thought for a moment she was scared, but would later realize it was to stop his swaying, in fear of him tipping over… they needed him right now.

"Engine is ready!" Cinna called over his shoulder, fiddling around with a few knobs and buttons. Baku gripped the steering wheel, knuckles turning white under his gloves.

"Alright boys, are you ready for this?"

"Ready as we'll ever be…" Marcus steadied himself as the ship slowly began to move, "We'll need to be down by the doors – everyone who doesn't need to be here to fly the ship…"

He lead Blank, Zenero, and Ruby out into the corridor. Cinna turned to their boss, and glanced at him with wavering eyes, "Do you think that Zidane is still alive?"

A hard look crossed over Baku's face, and he was quiet as they rose fully into the air. He could imagine the face of Kuja and his army as their own airship flew above them. "No…"

The thief turned back towards his controls without another word…

?

They swept over the city quickly, the doors slowly folding into themselves as the ones at the control center opened the door. The four that were there clutched the edges, making sure they didn't fall out. Wind shot through in huge gusts, and as they hovered above the ground, trying to get close, they saw the far away reactions of their doings.

Most men stood, stupefied to the spot, unsure of exactly _what_ was going on. Kuja was hovering over the ground, quaking with rage, and had yet to see his ship fly above. They saw Zidane on the ground, blood pooling around him, fire licking at his battered body, and ice being shot at him from the demon above.

Ruby aimed as Blank grabbed her waist, and shot a hasty firega spell at Kuja. It hit him square in the back, and astonished, he whipped around, rage fueling his motives.

But that fury seemed to evaporate (only for a moment, before coming back twenty times stronger), and his jaw slackened, eyes going wide as he saw the ship, and who was commanding it. A foul shriek escaped the grounds, amplified by magic, shattering windows to the precious city.

His fire and ice vanished from around the Genome, and he sprinted, trying to get as close to the ship as possible.

"It doesn't look good!" Zenero spoke, eyes large with concern, "He's not moving."

"We need to get in there and get him fast!" Marcus commanded, signaling for Ruby to fire another shot.

It was weak magic, but it would have to do, and they hoped maybe in his vehemence advance, Kuja wouldn't be able to dodge. It was a long shot, unfortunately, as he stepped out of the way and shot his own firega spell forward.

The blast would have burned them all alive, cooking them, if they hadn't leapt out of the way. Blank's eyes burned as he watched the fire fly past, slamming into a wall. It was like a small explosion – this man's power was coming from raw wrath.

"How dare you?" He boomed from below.

"We need to get out there!" Blank pressed.

Marcus heaved a sigh, as though unconcerned with their situation. In truth, though he'd never admit it, he was terrified. "Let's get this show on the road ladies!"

And then he jumped from the airship without another word, knowing the others would soon follow.

?

**A/N: Well! I know you guys have waited a long time for this! It wouldn't surprise me if I didn't have anyone left :P but for those who are new, or perhaps still reading :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**I'm suddenly super into writing this again! Yay! Please review and lemme know how I'm doing!**

**-zesty-**


	43. Chapter 42: White Mage

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**A/N: I've had this done for a LONG time! I'm sorry I didn't update forever! I hope you forgive me and still leave me love!**

**Chapter 42: White Mage**

The army was smart. The army was not going to run into a fight they were instructed to stay out of – no matter how many people showed up. They also were not, under any circumstance, going to get in Kuja's way when he was that angry…

And if they thought he was mad before…

They were in for a bit of a shock…

Marcus landed easily on the ground after a simple roll, though dodging Kuja's quick attack was a bit harder. He dove behind a chunk of wood, only to feel it get immensely hot, and burst into flames. He cursed loudly as Ruby's shriek was heard, when he was forgotten, and the attacks were on the next to land.

He glanced around, still pressed against the ground incase he had to spring into action.

He saw Zidane on the ground, still unmoving, and bleeding badly. If they wanted any chance of saving the kid, they needed to get out of there fast. Assessing the army, he figured that even if they _did_ look away from Kuja's powerful attacks, they wouldn't try to stop Marcus, in fear of being caught in the crossfire.

Biting his lip, he knew using the three other Tantalus thieves for bait might have been a bad thing, but their main objective was to get the blonde and get out. He heaved forward, rolling to a stop by him.

"Zidane!" Marcus hissed, shaking his limp being a little. When no movement – not even the flicker of an eyelid – happened, he glanced at Kuja, who cast countless spells one after another, unrelenting, at the three who were trying to take cover among various objects.

The ship still hovered close to the ground – but too far to simply jump into.

His debating ended up causing problems. Kuja whipped around, eyes wide when he saw the thief next to his prey, "What are you doing you idiots?" He demanded of his army, "Attack!" His bellowing voice seemed to echo, and that's when Marcus truly got nervous.

"Shit…"

As the man turned his attentions back to Blank, Ruby, and Zenero, Marcus suddenly had a whole army after him. Cursing once more, he threw Zidane over his shoulder, hoping he didn't further the damage.

Flinching as he felt blood already lead onto his shoulder, he took off at a sprint, whistling loudly to show he was leaving. The others quickly followed his lead, and eventually, the ship saw the mass mob moving away.

"How is he?"

"Terrible. He's not walking, is he?"

"Is he dead, is what I meant!"

"I haven't had time to check!" Marcus tried to keep the snip from his voice, but he couldn't help himself.

The ship crushed another building, and large chunks rocketed from the sky. It was either be trapped with the army, or get a little bit of a head start. He decided to go with the ladder as he raced forward, increasing his speeds.

"Marcus!" Ruby yelled, trying to pick up the pace. But he didn't look back, and kept sprinting, praying he could beat the concrete mix.

His feet pounded into the ground, the rain splashing into the blood as it ran off his body. They were soaked now, and raindrops began to pelt down so hard, they could barely see in front of them.

With Cinna and Baku's piloting skills, he was surprised the large mass in the air (that he assumed was the ship) was still floating, and pushed forward, though is burning lungs were protesting.

Ruby breathed and grabbed Blank's hand, hoping that he could continue pulling her forward. After one look at his face, seeing his determination, yet the loss of hope in his barely visible emerald eyes, she knew she had to do something to help their cause. He would never be the same person again if he lost Zidane one more time… for the last time…

This time, she held her breath as chill condensed in her hand. Once she felt too much power to hold onto, she released it, a blizzard of cold air and ice spewing over the area. Instantly, the liquid froze, and many frontline soldiers slipped and fell, beginning a build up.

At least, since the ice wouldn't stop Kuja – perhaps a mound of soldiers would.

Marcus began to yell, and the three picked up pace as the ship hovered dangerously close to the ground. The landing gear wasn't out, which meant they would need to jump, but if anything tipped them off balance – they were doomed to not fly, and in turn, be caught.

"We have to move!" He roared, gearing up to jump. Blank watched as he leapt, airs dangling midair for a moment, before landing heavily on the area of the ship just in front of the door.

Blank was next to jump, and he let go of Ruby's hand, so he could pounce into the opening. He flew easier than Marcus, carrying Zidane, and easily landed inside. The two left were the ones they had to worry about.

Ruby couldn't naturally jump as far, and Zenero's hefty build caused a harder fall, and a shorter suspension time in-air.

The redhead encouraged Zenero, and he gave a great amount of effort into his jump, though not confident in the least that he would manage to get up. He was correct, and his first attempt almost made him fall over.

His fingertips skimmed the ground, and somehow his feet kept moving, missing only about a half of a beat.

"Come on Zen! You can do it! Just give it one more shot!" The thief puffed as he tried to move, and hopped once more, this time, dangling from the edge of the craft.

The weight seemed to be thrown off, and the ship tilted on edge. It began moving forward the moment Marcus had leapt, so it made it all the more difficult to get the others on board. His legs kicked, trying to find footing along the dusty ground, but extend his legs too far, and he would grind on the ground, falling off.

It was a dangerous gamble, but with the combined help of Marcus and Blank, he got onto the ship, though barely as he rolled away.

Ruby knew she was the last to get on the ship and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. The scenery seemed to zip by them, but her eyes only focused on the red tuft of hair above Blank's head. The cries of the soldiers were close again, and she could basically _feel_ Kuja's breath on her neck. Tears filled her vision as the ship seemed to lurch forward – further from her reach.

It didn't seem like she was going to make it.

?

"After a month of great work…" Cid grinned, spreading his arms.

Leaves rustled around them, blowing them into the large clearing they had chipped out of the forest. Eyes beaming, he began to walk around the object, examining everything about it. "No – more than a great month…" He chuckled, turning back to the crew, "The Hilda Garde III has been finished my friends!"

Dagger's chocolate eyes looked at the invention lovingly. "It looks amazing, Uncle!"

"If this is three…" Bronson tilted his head, dirty blonde hair tilting to follow his head, "Where are the first and second?" He wondered out loud.

"We have the first," Cid explained merrily, "And Lindblum was stolen away just as I was finishing construction on the second…" He nodded sorrowfully, "So here we are with the third!"

"Neither the first or third will be in wonderful condition," Dagger explained, watching as her uncle seemingly pranced back to the device, ogling over the intricate designs with limited tools. "The first is too old, and the third wasn't built with the right equipment… but it'll do its job!"

Before the man could say much more, Vivi walked into the clearing, eyes beaming with a sense of anxiety. Immediately, Dagger went to him, concern etching over her features, "Vivi? Are you okay?"

"I just had a horrible dream…" He glanced at the ship, and yanked down on his hat, as though embarrassed, judging by the look he received from the knight. Dagger shot him a look before kneeling down and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. She blew the stray hairs from her face, and looked into his bright, yellow eyes.

"What happened?"

"Bad things happened to Zidane," He turned away, sniffles blocking clear speech, "Kuja found him, and tried to murder him."

She gasped and placed her other hand on his other shoulder, "That's horrible, Vivi!" The man she accompanied before didn't seem to phased, or understand why such a nightmare might have been frightening.

"What if that's what's happening right now?" He whispered, fretful.

She tried to smile reassuringly, but she wasn't sure that's how it crossed as, "It was just a dream, Vivi… I'm sure they're going to be on their way back soon with the ship, and he'll be laughing and floating out the doors, telling everyone they worried about him too much."

"I hope you're right… I just have a bad feeling…"

Dagger understood that Vivi was powerful. And not only that, but he was _rare_. It wasn't every day that you saw a black mage have a mind, being able to communicate and feel emotions. They weren't sure what exactly happened to Vivi to make him like that, but no one understood the powers that he possessed clearly either – but neither did he himself.

She wondered if his dreams were sometimes right, and almost worked up the courage to ask. But as the wind whispered around her, causing the trees to groan in protest of bending, as they creaked under the heavy wind, she realized that she didn't want to know…

She just prayed that it was a dream, and that Zidane was alright…

?

Stars glittered in the sky, twinkling to their height of brightness, and dulling a little, before their colors once again shot out into the sky. The wind rustled the grass and leaves, creating music only nature could play.

It was a warm night, and the slight breeze was welcome, and Dagger smiled as it reminded her of Dali so many long nights ago. There wasn't much grass in this dessert terrain, but when she was close to the forest, patches scattered the area, and those were her favorite places to sit.

She remembered the long patrolling nights made short when she was with Zidane. Conversation was light and fun, and the atmosphere was beautiful, even the night that rain poured down on them in buckets, and both were soaked to the bone, freezing.

They had walked the area, not really knowing why they were out on patrol – nobody was going to be out in weather like _that_.

The duo walked along the wet grass, the blades tickling and cold as they moved, and Dagger remembered grabbing onto them and sliding the drops off, only for more to immediately splash back onto it.

"_Zidane… Have you ever been in love?" _It was such a random and inappropriate question, but she hadn't been able to stop it from slipping.

He walked for a moment, a smile on his face – he would never tell her a question was silly, even if he thought so. She thought for a moment he didn't hear her, and turned away, but then his soft voice rang out.

"_I thought I was once…_" That sinking feeling that had been in Dagger's chest that rainy night, came back again, though it was from memory, and not from knowledge, "_But it was only a short time, and it really was not love…"_

"_What do you mean?" She asked begrudgingly._

_He laughed at her tone of voice, and peeled off his gloves, flexing his damp fingers in the wind. "I went to see a play…" He laughed from the memory, still clear in his mind, "mind you, this was in the dream Alexandria, okay?"_

_She nodded, "Right."_

"_And the girl on the stage was so gorgeous, face caked with stage make up, and hair falling in delicate ringlets around her face," he snorted then, "I thought it was love at first sight, and I vowed I'd go talk to her…" He stopped there, chuckling a little._

_She was confused, and when she didn't say anything, he continued._

"_I did end up talking to her, and mind you she was the _bitchiest_ being I have ever talked to in my life… So like I said, very brief."_

"_That sounds like a wonderful romance!" She clasped her hands together and bounced them off of her lower stomach as they walked, her own giggle escaping into the air._

"_Oh yes, very long lasting!" He crossed his arms behind his neck and glanced up at the sky, "Do you think you know what it feels like to be in love, Dagger?"_

_The way he spoke the sentence made her smile lovingly, but she shook her head, "I don't think I would even have a clue…"_

"_I think that it's when you look at someone, and you just can't help but stare, and you smile like an idiot…" He nodded, as though confirming his own belief, "And every time you're with them, you feel like you're going to float away, but they're the only ones keeping you there… I think that maybe if you had the worst problems in the world, seeing them would instantly make your day better…" He was quiet, an embarrassed smile on his face, "I think that's what love might be."_

She counted off those things, that memory, lately, forever playing in her mind. She hadn't seen Zidane in a long time, and she found herself, when alone, thinking about his return, and their memories together alone. Shaking her head, she laughed, leaning back on the palms of her hands and closing her eyes.

There she replayed the scene of their kiss – something truly out of a play, and when she opened her eyes, the sky winked at her, as though telling her everything would end up being okay.

And she was believing it as well.

?

"For Heaven's sake Ruby!" Marcus barked, hair whipping his bandana tail viciously, "They're gaining! Just _jump!_"

"You try runnin' in a skirt and heels sometime!"

He rolled his eyes, reaching out even further, as Blank's foot slammed against the wall of the ship, as he held onto Marcus so he could leave further out.

Finally, with enough griping from the boys, Ruby gave up trying to get closer and leapt. When she was in the air, she watched the ship seemingly float away in slow motion, but as she reached out desperately, a hand caught her fingers, and yanked her forward.

All three tumbled into the air craft, and breathed only for a moment, as they stayed amazed at the results.

"I can't believe we all made that…" Blank spoke, truly amazed. Zenero was the first to recover, and hit the emergency button to seal the doors, just as Kuja's waterga spell shot for them. Only a few spurts of water got inside, and the brother took off to tell Cinna and Baku to lift into the air.

That left the three with Zidane. They scrambled over simultaneously and assessed him.

"This is bad…"

Blood still seeped from him, though he was still completely unmoving. Ruby ripped off her skirt, and wrapped it around his upper leg, hoping to cut off the circulation and the blood flow. "We ain't no medics – we can't do much of anythin'!"

"We have to try! Ruby, go find some sort of a sheet, or something we can use to carry him up – it makes me nervous being so close to the door."

She nodded and sprinted away, leaving the two boys behind. "The moment of truth…" Blank nodded, leaning over the Genome, and pressing his ear against the still chest.

He listened for a while, his own heart sinking in his chest.

"Blank…" Marcus saw the reaction on his face, and pulled him up, clasping his shoulder with a strong hand. "I'm sorry…"

The redhead threw off the band around his eyes, blinking in the harsh light of the ship, no matter how dull it was. His eyes watered, and a tear fell down his cheek, as he scrubbed away at the side of his face, trying to get his best friend's blood off of his skin.

"No…"

Something inside his rarely seen emerald eyes died then. He lost his best friend twice – both times Blank had abandoned him when he knew it was going to get bad. "Someone should have stayed there incase he needed help!" Blank slammed his fist on the floor, denting it.

Marcus stayed quiet, grieving silently to give Blank his space.

"Why did this happen to him? He was the best out of us all! The most kind hearted, the one who would always do things right!" Blank fell back on his butt, curling his knees closer to his chest, and pressing the lower palms of his hands into his eyes, forcing himself to be strong, but failing to do so.

Marcus crawled over to Zidane, examining his body. He wisped the damp hair from Zidane's eyes and looked at his face.

_Come on Zidane… Any sign that you're alive…_ Marcus slowly lowered himself to Zidane's chest, trying to hear anything for himself.

?

As Dagger continued to reminisce, Eiko emerged from the forest, slowly walking closer to her.

"Dagger?" She questioned, her voice a high soprano, but familiar, made the girl open her eyes.

"Hi Eiko! What's up?"

"I have a question for you…"

"Oh?"

She bounced over and plopped down in the grass next to the girl, and stared at her in wonder, "You summon stuff, right?"

The girl quickly turned away, chocolate eyes scanning the area. Since everyone else knew – should she tell Eiko? She turned back, examining the girl who was examining her, and thought that she didn't look like she was going to betray them… She had been captured with them, and stuck with them through everything.

"Yes…" Dagger nodded, finally answering.

Eiko wove her fingers together, and untangled them in a nervous habit. The older girl watched on in fondness as her own hands gripped the blades of grass behind her. Her gloves disabled her from feeling the velvet touch, but she could imagine it being there.

"What other kind of magic do you know?"

Dagger laughed. She hadn't meant to, but she thought the conversation would take on a much more serious tone. "I do white magic, why do you ask?"

Eiko yanked at her short, purple hair, nervously biting her lips and glancing around, "Well see… I know white magic too…"

"Oh?" She tilted her head in amusement, truly wondering where this conversation was going to go.

"Yeah…" She nodded slowly, "But see – I lived with moogles for so long… that I've never had the chance to use any of it… So I don't know if I'm any good." It took her a long time to get her stuttering question out, but she finally made it, and now the conversation all clicked together in Dagger's mind.

"Oh, I see…" She nodded, "Would you like me to teach you?"

She nodded – so small that the raven haired teenager had a hard time seeing it, "I would like that a lot… Just incase people get hurt, and you need help…"

"Right!" Dagger encouraged, standing and dusting off her pants, "Well let's get started then!"

"Now?" She gasped.

The girl nodded, raven hair falling in front of her eyes before she flicked it backwards. It was no longer long enough to pin back, but she would make due. It had already grown out a little bit. "Why not? There's always plenty of people to practice spells on!" She laughed and lead the way, the less shy girl suddenly exploding with conversation, blunt and quickly.

But truly, she was very grateful…

?

Marcus held his head there for a long time. Everything was mostly silent, except for Blank, and the occasional creak of the airship. He could feel them turning, and knew they were headed for the ones who would help them… It was a lot of people.

_Where's Ruby with that blanket?_ He bitterly thought about all those people trampling in, stomping over Zidane, whether he was dead or alive…

For a few more minutes, he tried to listen, but he couldn't hear anything. With a heavy sigh, he sat up again, wincing when he saw the blonde. But he didn't understand… If the Genome was dead, why was blood still leaking so quickly from him.

Finally, it was the breaking point, and Blank let out a full fledged sob. He was always the hardest one emotionally, beating Marcus at times, with his "don't care" attitude, and how he always leaned against things as though he were bored. He had toughened up after he lost Zidane, no more jokes or laughs, for awhile anyways.

He became serious, and stronger, as though trying to absorb the strength and courage Zidane had had before he vanished… but that's not what the blonde would have wanted for his friend, and now, this second time of losing him, Blank would do the whole thing over again… but worse…

Tears began to prick Marcus' own eyes as realization struck him. Zidane was the one who kept everyone up beat and positive, and most importantly – _together_. It pained him, seeing the kid there on the floor, broken and battered.

Closing his eyes, Marcus, for the first time in his life, felt dizzy and out of place, and he leaned on Blank for support as the youngest thief sobbed.

Zidane was dead.

Seconds turned into minutes, and they didn't move. It seemed as though time stood still, their broken best friend laying in front of them.

A groan escaped into the air, and Marcus leaned away from Blank, trying to give him space. But when he looked up, he found Blank doing the same thing.

"Who the fuck is crying?" The voice was so weak, and barely audible, but Blank and Marcus were staring at each other, and knew neither them nor the other was the one speaking.

The redhead's head whipped towards the blonde. Blue eyes, caked with blood, were barely open, but that trademark smirk was on his lips, and the two Tantalus members froze in shock.

Then suddenly, everyone sprang into action. Marcus began tearing every piece of clothing he could get to, just to wrap Zidane up. He coughed and spluttered, now very conscious of the pain he was feeling.

"Zidane!" Blank's face shielded the light form him, and tear drops felt cool on his warm cheeks. The blonde only smiled up at him, not daring to talk in fear of coughing to death. This was proven by the wheeze just as he opened his mouth.

"Don't speak…" Marcus ordered roughly, though a very plain smile was on his face. Ruby came back panting, as though she ran around the whole ship just to find something to move him with.

"Lay it out on the floor, Rubes!" Blank said, lifting Zidane's head, and pouring the smallest bit of water into his mouth at a time.

It washed down his burning throat, and left a tingling sensation within him, but it felt nice to have something in his system. His hand slowly moved towards his pocket, and painfully, he dug out the treasures he'd found at his own home.

"Blank…" The redhead came to immediately attention, "Hold onto these…" He dropped them desperately into his best friend's hand.

"If I hold these for you, until you wake back up… You better hold on until we can get a cure, okay?"

"Whatever you say…"

Ruby suddenly scampered away, yelling something about having something that might help in her pack. You could hear her clicking heels from a ways off, before Marcus finally glanced around.

"I ran out of cloth… We need to move him now, because I'm pretty sure we're going to get company soon, and he can't be right in front of the door."

"Right!" Blank slipped his hands delicately under Zidane's shoulder blades, as Marcus got most of his legs, conscious and careful of the one laying at a weird angle.

They lifted him slowly onto the white sheet, crimson immediately dying the snow white linen. Marcus and Blank picked up the cloth on both ends, slowly, but steadily moving through the halls.

Sometimes, a light would blink off, or they would have to stop and rest to make sure they were going in the right direction. Ruby came back to help them, and tried to lift the middle of the blonde as best she could.

When they finally emerged into the control center, light shined down on them, and they could see the fresh rain and colorful terrain of the outside. Zidane spluttered, and spat up blood, but was otherwise still breathing.

"Holy shit!" Cinna abandoned his post and ran to the blonde's side, "He's alive!"

Baku glanced over his shoulder and cringed at what he saw, "We need to haul some ass…" He clicked a few buttons, before they began to lower. "They're all waiting for us here… Someone go down to explain exactly where to go…" Their leader ushered Blank to do it, and though he did it grudgingly, made haste so he could come back.

"Now that he's gone…" Zidane groaned out, "What are the chances of me living?"

"Slim," Marcus answered simply, "Unless we can get some sort of a white mage…"

Ruby was in the middle of popping open her potion, and lifted Zidane's head for him to drink it. The bitter taste washed down his throat, and he shuttered painfully, but managed to get about half of it down. It would help him, at least a little.

"Perfect…" The blonde grinned, straining to keep his eyes open. He didn't want to go to sleep, but he was oh so tired…

?

**A/N: Well, I wasn't really planning on stopping right there, but the chapter is getting just a little bit long…**

**I hope you all enjoyed it! :) and I hope that you all find it in yourselves to give me a little feedback! Anything is appreciated! Thank you!**

**-zesty-**


	44. Chapter 43: Death Defying Race

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 43: Death Defying Race**

Everything was blurry for the entire ride home. He remembered pain – a lot of it… He remembered it pressing down on him, so hard that he wasn't sure if he could continue breathing… And then a warm hand would be placed on his shoulder, and water would be coaxed down his dry throat, and things would feel okay again… Then it would build back up, and the cycle would repeat itself.

That was the most distinguished part of his ride back from Terra. He thought it ironic, in his half-slumber, that he was fearful of death on the way there, but also frightened for it on the way home as well… But the most important thing was that he had survived the assault for now, and that's all that mattered…

He saw unfamiliar faces gaze upon him, lips moving, but the Genome couldn't make out their words. At this point he would groan, a cough building in his throat, and his eyes would roll, eyelids would fall shut, and he would lapse into unconsciousness.

Sometimes he would hear Blank talk to him, other times, have whispered conversations with someone else in the room, but he was aware (when he was awake of course) that his best friend never left his side.

There were blank spots in his memory where he seemed to be suspended in nothingness. He would simply be there, wondering when it was time to get to where they were going, though he had no memory of where they were headed, and where they just came from… and then he would wake up, and suddenly remember.

There was one point when he awoke slightly to a hurried woman, with long auburn hair, placing a delicate hand to his forehead, declaring he had a fever, and that he needed help.

So during his sick time, he dreamt. He hadn't had those dreams since Alexandria really, that showed him things he hadn't known about his prior life, but he did remember some things better now. He recreated more memories with Tantalus, and remembered discovering the world, but one that stuck with him the most was peculiar and unsettling.

_When he awoke he was in a bed. It was large, but there were others in it as well. Sapphire eyes burned in protest to this new light, as the boy latched onto the large and awkward blankets of the bed, in hopes of shielding himself._

_Sitting up soundlessly, he saw five other children sleeping. One was a Bermecian who was a little older, long silver hair cascading around her as she slumbered, and the others were human eyes swollen and red from cries and nightmares._

_Zidane rubbed his head as his brain seemingly pounded against his skull. Letting out a soft groan, he planted his feet on the floor, and suddenly remembered the occurrences not that long ago. Yelping, he jumped up, breath leaving him quickly as he tried to survey his surroundings._

_This stirred the other children, and seeing his startled look, they began to cry again, except for the Bermecian girl._

"_Mommy!" He croaked out, voice hoarse, "Daddy!" Stumbling up the nearest staircase, he thought perhaps it would lead to the place he had left his battered parents, but really they would still be alive, and it would all be a dream._

_Unfortunately, that wasn't what happened. He shot up, skipping the rickety looking steps, and stumbled onto a large area, completely made of wood. The sun's rays danced upon the ship, glimmering upon the water and bouncing back into his matching azure eyes. Tears threatened to fall that he tried to fight back, because he didn't want to look like a child._

"_Hey…" There was a soft voice from behind him, and he flinched, wishing to be alone. He didn't know where he was, or how he got there, and that's what scared him the most. What became of his home? He wasn't sure… "Hey, it's okay…"_

_He turned to see a tall woman, eyes shimmering and sincere. "Are you frightened?" She held out her hand, "It's alright, I won't hurt you…"_

_His eyes shifted from her face, to her long, delicate fingers, as he made a decision. Slowly, he slipped his hand into hers, "Where am I?"_

"_We found you in Terra, dear…" She smiled delicately, "we've taken you away from that place – you were lucky to have survived."_

"_Why did you take me?" He snapped childishly, "I want my mom and dad! I want my home!" She sighed, and pulled him tenderly across the deck, to overlook the beautiful ocean._

_Its hue was darker than that of the sky, but both blended together as seagulls peacefully wafted overhead, once in a while diving to find fish. It was only over the ocean that the world wasn't corrupt with the plague Kuja fed it._

"_Though I know you do not wish to hear this now… You parents gallantly passed away, saving you… You must have collapsed, and the soldiers left you be. Terra was taken over by black mages and Kuja's forces… He's taking over the world slowly, and we –" she gestured to all the people working on board, whether they be talking to each other, lending a hand, or speaking with others who seemed to be survivors, "- travel to find ones who need help… Who've been abandoned by fate in this cruel war…"_

"_Where are we going?" Everything was so hard to grasp quickly._

"_We're taking you to Lindblum. There, at least, is safe. It's too powerful a city – they cannot hurt the citizens there."_

"_Who is they?"_

"_The mages, soldiers, and worst of all, Kuja… Never, if you can help it, cross their paths… They're dangerous people and creatures."_

_Zidane didn't say anymore, but only latched onto the woman, leaning against her for support as he watched the waves collapsed over each other in a melodic way. It made him sleepy just watching._

"_You should rest, child…" She affectionately pushed the hair from his eyes, "My name is Rose… I can help you if you need, whenever…" She handed him a bottle of water, and ushered him back down the stairs._

_He saw the human children were already fast asleep again, but the Bermecian stared at him as he walked downstairs._

"_Who are you?" He asked her, curious._

"_My name is Freya… What of yours?"_

"_Zidane," He greeted, sitting on the bed next to her, eyeing something strapped to her back, "What's that?"_

_She pulled it out quickly, causing him to yelp and fall back on off the bed, thumping onto the ground._

"_It is a spear."_

"_You fight?" He asked in awe._

_She seemed to let on a fair smile, "I could show you…" She pulled something from her boot, and handed it to him. It was a stubby dagger, rustic and awkward, though with a beautiful ruby in the middle, "You can have this… Just do not lose the ruby! It is very precious!"_

_He smiled at her, taking in her features, "You and I are going to be friends…"_

?

Beatrix shook her head as she watched the raven haired girl, hair shining a dark chocolate in the sunlight, "It's her favorite hobby now, you know…"

"I do not blame her…" He sighed, as though regretful to say it, "If I were in her position, people I care about as dearly as she cares for him and Blank, I would wait all the time as well…"

She glanced at him, wondering for a moment if he was kidding or not, "It's a cruel joke you play, Steiner…"

"That is no joke, Beatrix…" He grabbed her hand for a moment, then thought better of it, and let it go. "I do hope they arrive soon… We need some sort of morale to get us going."

"Cid's ship is finished," She offered with a shrug. Though people were delighted, they worried about the Tantalus' confrontation with Kuja… They wondered what was happening.

He traced the awkward and jagged lines of the bark on the nearest tree, before glancing back at her, "You know people are worried…"

"Some for the wrong reasons though…" Some of the resistance, less concerned with the group, were more concerned that if they failed, would Kuja come after them?

If they succeeded so thoroughly, or failed that badly, either way, the ship would land in front of them, and they had to wait until the doors of the machine opened before they would know for sure who won the battle.

"But far more are worried for the people." He watched the skies, staring in hopes that perhaps by some powerful will, he could pull the ship back faster.

Beatrix sighed and kicked her boot at the grass lightly, glaring as she watched Bronson approach the girl, "I do not like him with her…"

Steiner made some sort of a grunting noise – perhaps it was to agree, or to laugh at her opinion, she didn't know.

Staring up at the sky, she watched the wisps of clouds slowly pass over them, the sun bright and hopeful, far away from this wretched world.

But as she watched, a small dot appeared in the sky. At first, she thought nothing of it – barely even saw it. But soon, it got bigger, and kept growing still. She glanced at Steiner, wondering if she was just seeing things… but he stared with a dumb look on his face… No, he must have seen it too.

They were both jostled from a yell – Dagger saw it next – and with a yelp, she was up and running, trying to figure out where it would land.

Soon people emerged from all sorts of different places, yelling and screaming, eyes widening with sheer awe.

Someone was back from Terra…

People waited anxiously, staying far enough back so the ship would have enough of a place to land. Dagger was holding the front, eyebrows knit together with a large concern. No one knew who would waltz out of that ship… and who wouldn't…

Beatrix and Steiner shoved their way to the front, hands ever ready on the hilt of their swords. If Kuja's army was going to emerge to crush them, the two would be the first ready, and the first to protect the resistance.

Finally, it settled on the ground, and seemed to take a moment, before doors slid open. It was higher tech than any ship they'd ever seen in their entire life, and awe struck eyes wandered curiously.

For a moment, nothing filled the walk way, and no sounds emerged. More people placed hands on weapons – they would have figured Tantalus would be bounding out to see everyone by now.

Dagger bit down on her lip, stepping forward, but being held back by Cid. Though he was just as anxious to see who survived, he knew better than to get too terribly close.

Noise slowly shuffled in the craft, and surprisingly Cinna was the first to be seen. He was walking backwards, and only turned around to hop off the ledge of the door. He froze at such a homecoming.

When the front wave saw it was him, applause filled the air, along with cheers, as some people moved forward to see him. A grin spread over his features, as he lined his sideburns, eyes deviant.

Soon Ruby showed herself as well, and with them, Zenero and a small group of people they had never seen before. People were wary of the newcomers, but when the newly recruited rebels saw how many already fought for their cause, they broke out in their own cheers and laughter, sobs and smiles. It immediately bonded the foreign groups.

They were all ushered off the ship, and slowly, Marcus followed up the rear. Immediately, those who were closest to the members of Tantalus noticed the fact that two were not present.

"Zidane… Blank…" Dagger cried out, "Where are they?"

Marcus was the bearer of bad news, and sighed, dragging himself towards them. The main party huddled together, along with a few others who wished to know the fate of the Genome. Vivi nervously shifted from one foot to the other, and even Steiner was anxious to know.

"You guys had better come with me… I'll show you around your newly acquired airship…" He turned then, saying no more, and Beatrix gripped Dagger's hand.

Tears began rolling down her cheeks as she gulped in a breath, trying to stay in control, "Marcus…"

"Just come on…"

So the group of Dagger, Steiner, Freya, Vivi, Quina, Regent Cid himself, Beatrix, and Eiko, with Ruby and Cinna slowly following behind, trailed Marcus into the richly designed airship.

Its purple interior – the color of royalty – glittered the walls, with designs etched into the very being of the ship. Its corridors echoed the footsteps of the many riders, and finally, they reached the wooden control center of the ship.

"It's pretty simple to fly, and not unlike the others… This is probably the most friendly looking room in the whole ship… Otherwise, it looks dark, and creepy… We should probably change it…"

He sighed and walked into another hallway, and slowly pushed open the door to a room, but put a finger to his lips, indicating to be at least a little quiet. Dagger stumbled inside, and what she saw before her truly frightened her. Gasps escaped behind her, and she stepped forward, hoping to get a better look.

Blank turned, and though one couldn't spot his eyes, in just his posture, anybody could tell he hadn't slept in a few days. He looked bruised – perhaps from a fight, but not nearly as bad as the one sitting on the bed.

He was still at the moment, but there was a bucket of what she assumed bile and blood next to the bed. His hair was damp and pushed from his face, roughly bandaged arms, stained with splotched of crimson blood at his sides. His leg was propped up on as many pillows as could be comfortable.

"Zidane…" Vivi's voice was small as everyone made their way into the room.

"What happened?" Eiko whispered, horrified from the sight. This was not the same lively and kind hearted blonde that laughed with them every day, despite the situation at hand. This was a soldier, scarred by war, fever among him.

"Kuja did show up…" Marcus explained, turning away from the scene, "We thought we lost him… It was our plan to steal the ship, while Zidane held him off…"

"Why would you do something so foolish?" Dagger's words slipped before she could help it.

He sighed and turned away, shaking his head. "If you would have seen Terra, Dagger, you would have understood… Zidane wanted to do it –"

"That doesn't matter!" She cried out, leaning towards Zidane. Those words suddenly broke her out of her horrible thoughts and images. "That doesn't matter…" She repeated, but in a whole new perspective.

Removing her gloves, so as to not stain that last ones she had left, she pressed her delicate hands over Zidane's chest. Since they had yet to have an absolute permanent home, she rarely ever took off her gloves, and she grimaced as raw feeling touched her skin.

Closing her eyes, she summoned the energy in her hands, and released it, an invisible haze washing over Zidane's body. She opened her chocolate eyes, scanning his being for any sort of change. When nothing happened, she cured him once more, waiting.

Everyone held their breath as they looked on. She sucked in a breath, and pressed a harder cure out, though it drained her. She finally pulled her hands away, trying to hide her pant, but catch her breath at the same time.

"We need to move him out… _now_…"

Steiner nodded and turned, but saw that most who had come with them to see the condition of the blonde were shell shocked – scared of what they saw. Kuja's power annihilated, let's face it, their most powerful ally, and Kuja probably wasn't even harmed. How was this going to turn out well?

He grumbled and moved forward, examining the sheets. "He shouldn't be moved on such a thing…" He shook his head, "Find something –"

"Got it," Ruby said immediately, laying out the matted sheet out on the ground. Slowly, Steiner lifted Zidane, and placed him equally as carefully on the ground. The movement of the victim broke most out of their trance, and Marcus moved to pick up the other end of the sheet.

"Coming through people… Just another war casualty – come on, nothing to see here – _don't_ touch him you fool! He's not dead you know!" Steiner's barking voice was heard echoing off of the walls in the hall.

"Blank…" Dagger whispered to him. This gave the cue for _most_ to evacuate the room, searching for other Tantalus members to get the story from. Everyone craved it though, from Zidane's point of view.

He looked at her, anger gripping his face, "I know Dagger, I'm sorry I couldn't save him before all this happened!"

"No!" She lashed out, grabbing him in a fretful hug, "I wanted to thank you!" She whispered to him harshly. "You brought him back alive…" Blank's depression broke then, and for the first time since having his last laugh on the steps with the blonde before he allowed his best friend to descend into the deserted streets of Terra alone, he felt hope, and let on a grin.

"Thank you…" He whispered back, and laughed when she kissed his cheek.

"Let's go…" She nodded, her eyes glimmering. Though Zidane was in a rough position, right now he was breathing, and that's what mattered to her. "I think you need to be introduced to our home…"

Pulling at his hand, she pressed to move out of the room; Blank followed happily, as he had seen far too much of that place in the last few days.

"What was it like… in Terra?" Dagger whispered, as though the subject was to be a hushed one.

Blank answered her quietly, "Before we had to plan out bait and an attack, it was actually… fun…" He laughed, "I had a blast working with Tantalus again…" He scratched the back of his head, "It's like Zidane had never left."

She stared down at the ground, "And when he found out he was to be the bait?"

"He figured it out by himself," Blank nodded slowly, "He found out on the way to Terra, and was pretty calm about it…" Sheepishly, he added, "I was the most upset about that one… Ruby too…" the redhead's eyes scanned the area, "Marcus promised he'd have a plan to save the kid…" Though the topic was miserable, he couldn't help but smirk, "But I don't think that fucker had a plan, even when we moved in to save Zidane…"

"Could you…" She was back to her whispering, "Tell me about it?"

Blank looked startled, "About the attack?" She nodded. "Why?"

It was her turn to sweep the horizon with her gaze, wondering for a moment why exactly she wanted to know. "I was close to losing Zidane… Ask anyone – I waited out here everyday, worried sick about my two dearest friends," she flashed a shy smile at Blank, indicating he was one of the two, "Vivi was worried too – even _Steiner_ was anxious! Everybody knew Zidane's chances of dying…" She shook her head, her raven hair sweeping her shoulders, "I guess I was just…" she choked on her words, "You know I have feelings for him…"

"I know…" Blank softened then, and stopped, placing a hand on her shoulder, "But why would you want to know the horrors of that attack?"

She fidgeted, "I know he won't tell me when he wakes up… Maybe he'll tell others, but I'll never hear it from his mouth exactly. I need to know what's happening Blank," she suddenly clutched his arms, desperate, "Everybody always feels like they need to keep the Princess in the dark, when in reality – I need to know _most_ of what's going on! I'm the leader of this rebellion, even though I don't make most decisions…" Tears pricked at her eyes, but they were from the desperateness of her words, not because of sorrow, "I want to know what I have to expect, falling in love with Zidane."

Blank didn't answer. He stared at her, a dumbfounded looked flickering onto his expression. Right as it slipped out, she covered her mouth, as though she peeped a curse word. Both of them blinked at each other, before she turned away, hands balling into fists. He chuckled and grabbed one of them, staring off into the horizon with her. The sun was falling in the sky, casting elongated shadows across the wide open grounds.

"It's okay that you are…" He whispered in reassurance, and held onto her hand until it slowly uncurled. "I just get to make fun of you more about it then…"

She gasped and pushed him, "Don't!" that only earned a snicker. Turning suddenly serious, she faced him completely, "Don't tell Zidane…"

"I promise…" He nodded, and continued walking. "I don't know if you want to know, Dagger… You are a strong girl, I don't deny that – but what we saw out there was scary… Someone more powerful than probably _our_ whole group together, just crumble at Kuja's feet. It was disturbing…" He decided then he would have to tell her, "I know… I know that when we left him to get the ship, they were yelling about a girl named Elouise. I couldn't hear the whole conversation, and then Zidane tried attacking Kuja. They were ridiculous, unprepared attacks, and finally Kuja landed one on him. When we came back to rescue him, fire was all around him, he was bleeding and bruised, and we don't know what happened – just that we weren't sure he was alive."

She was quiet for a long while. It was hard to hear – the person she cared about most, even though she had only known him for short of a year, get busted up like that. Blank mumbled an apology, but she shook her head.

"There's nothing to be sorry about… You told me what happened; that's what I wanted."

"Okay…" His answer didn't sound so sure, so the rest of their walk was silent.

Though the stroll was short lived, as they stepped into the forest. He was in awe. She pointed out the trunk with the retractable bark that you can slip into an underground way once more. It wasn't completely finished, and they weren't sure if it was as safe as Dali, but it had mostly the same set up, which meant it was big, had a decently running kitchen ("Already? Jeez, do we have food to cook? I'm starving!") and rooms for some members. Wooden panels still lined their walkways, just for extra support, but they had done some magic to make sure that the dirt didn't turn to mud and collapse on them.

After the underground tour was finished, they took to the trees. She explained how one tree over here, and then another over there, had notches in it, going up into the thick leaves of the trees, so high up that you could hardly see anything up there. There were walk ways and bridges, very well camouflaged from the ground. Inside these trees, and to the sides of them, etc, were small tree houses and rooms for other members of the resistance. It seemed the underground area, and the treetop space spanned for miles, even if it was just enough to fit the resistance members.

"I can't believe it…" He breathed, shaking his head, "I honestly cannot believe it. You guys did _all_ this?"

"It's nothing compared to what Tantalus just did…"

"But it's huge! And well constructed – there was no haste – just like in Dali!" She beamed at his compliment, knowing one earned from Blank meant it was sincere and impressive. She laughed at his comment.

"I'm glad you like it…" She said quietly, and turned to stare over the tree tops, before seating herself on the edge, dangling her feet over. The redhead made a move to follow, but his vision swam before him when he glanced down, so he opted for leaning against the tree trunk.

"What's been going on since we've been away, besides all this?"

"Well –"

"Garnet!" Blank whirled around – who the hell called the girl Garnet? She leapt up, and he came running at her, the height barely phasing him as he lifted her off the ground and spun.

For being a pretty emotionally constipated teenager, Blank's mouth dropped, no attempts at hiding his surprise being made.

"I've done it! I've actually done it!"

Her eyes seemed to brighten, "You got the spell?" Glee overtook his face as he nodded, and she embraced him tightly, "Bronson! That's wonderful!"

He set her back down and grinned, ignoring Blank's present, and sparking his anger. "Whatever." He grumbled loud enough for Dagger to hear, "Guess that's the first thing Zidane'll hear about too…" He walked off, and her eyes suddenly widened.

Blank was never one to judge too quickly, but when it came to Zidane he was _very_ protective. There was some new comer who barged in, and thought he could call Dagger by her actual name, just pick her up and throw her around as though Zidane wasn't even a real person? That was disgusting. The guy had the _essence_ of asshole and –

"Blank!" She yelled, "Wait!" He stomped on, ignoring her. "Blank! Would you just stop to listen!"

"Aren't you keeping your boyfriend waiting!"

"You don't understand! I've just been teaching him this spell, and –"

"He seems to think it's a lot more than just being your student," the boy scoffed, and she glared.

"You _just_ came back! How can you make assumptions like that?"

"I think if anybody else saw how he just came up to you, and swept you off your feet, they'd peg it pretty easily too." He answered lowly, cautiously.

"That's not fair!" She stomped her foot and stared at him.

He turned around, but thought better of it and turned to her, suddenly pulling something out of a pocket of his. It was a folded piece of paper, the outside labeled _Dagger_ in a handwriting she wasn't familiar with.

Cocking her head, he spit the words at her, "Read it."

With shaky hands, she unfolded the paper, as Blank took his leave. Bronson crept behind her, about to ask what she was reading, before she silenced him and told him she'd like to read this alone.

?

"_She's turned out to be a fine young woman…"_

Zidane's eyes flickered as he turned his head. He felt his damp cheek touch a pillow, and slowly, his eyelids opened. They were caked with sleep, and he felt too sore to move. When was the last time he'd woken up?

"Hello Zidane…"

_That voice…_ Azure eyes focused in on a girl standing, staring out the door of the room.

"Look what's happened to you…" She sighed, brushing a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. "You're always getting into trouble when I'm not here…"

"It's to save people that I care about…" He found himself answering, mumbling back to her. The bed was so comfortable…

"So then why haven't you found me yet?" She turned to face him, emerald eyes piercing his. Recognition suddenly hit him, and he propped himself up on one painful elbow.

"_Elouise?" _She smiled.

"So you do remember me?"

"What are you doing here? How did you find me? I've been searching all over for you!"

"And I've been waiting for you, Zidane…" She tilted her head, "Wondering where you've been, and why you'd leave me behind for all of them…?"

"Blank he – we were best friends… we _are _best friends! And Dagger –"

"Both of which whose spot I used to be in…" Her eyes were tender, but there was underlying fire flickering deep within them. "I've grown up a lot Zidane, and you don't even have a clue."

"You're here now –"

She shrugged, "Maybe not…" She took careful steps forward towards him, and put a hand to his head, "You're burning up…" Those blonde waves fell in front of her face once more, the braid in the bun loosening, "Take care of yourself, Zidane… Come find me before you decide to fall off of the face of the planet, huh?" Her laughter seemed to float in the air, still there for a few hazy moments after she had stopped.

"You never told me why you're here…" He placed a ginger hand on her face.

She smiled again, but it was a little more twisted this time, "Didn't Kuja tell you? I've become a very fine young woman…" Her eyelashes swept over her cheeks, "I'm supposed to kill you, Zidane… but I might just let you go for now… to see why you've done what you've done…"

"I don't understand."

"It's not important right now…" She leaned down and kissed his forehead, "Go to sleep for now… and maybe sometime when you wake up again, we can go for breakfast at Libby's again with Avalanche, Griffin, and Vienna…"

"That sounds nice…" He mumbled, slurring even more than he had a few moments ago. When had he laid back down, instead of being on his elbow?

"Good-bye, Zidane…"

"Mmmph…" He closed his eyes again, and heard her voice one last time, but never heard the words that she said.

He floated for awhile, being awake, but not enough to comprehend anything. He simply thought about his conversation with the blonde girl for awhile. Oh how he had missed her voice – her face… she looked exactly like she had before.

He smiled a little, letting out a small giggle, a sound purely made by his fever and the delusions his head was having. But suddenly, that changed. His eyes snapped open, and he'd never felt a worse, stinging pain in all of his life.

Almost crying out as he shot up straight, he glanced around the room. Elouise had been there? He threw the measly blanket off of him and jumped up, running from the room. "Elouise!" He screamed, but the adrenaline left him just as quickly as it came, and he crumbled to the floor with a yelp. He'd just walked on his broken leg.

As his knees slammed into the ground, he glanced around as he bit back tears. That was a worse pain than he had ever felt in his life, and now he had no reconciliation about where they were at all. There were wooden boards hammered into the wall, and dirt dusting the floorboards below him.

Just where was –

"Zidane!" There was a gasp, and he glanced around, suddenly seeing Freya rushing over in his line of vision.

"She's here, Freya!" His vision swam, and when she told him she didn't understand, irritation swept over him, as though he expected her to know. "_Her!_" He almost sobbed out. He wavered on the spot – he could feel it now – and he fought back a sleep overcoming him. The pain licked up his leg, and from the sore spots on his body, but as he tried to get up, he crumpled to the ground in a heap, moaning.

Vaguely, he remembered the arms on him, and the small voice that talked to him, before he fell back into a restless sleep.

?

"Somebody needs to come quickly!" There was the slightest tone of hysteria in her voice… but she swore she was completely calm.

Vivi, Steiner, Beatrix, Marcus, Blank, and Dagger were all in the kitchen. It wasn't so much a meeting, or a conversation – they just all happened to be in there. Marcus and Blank were scrounging up some food, trying to scope out the kitchen on their first day back. The winds were cold and restless, and he felt comfort in a familiar façade of safety (like the kitchen of Dali), and Steiner and Beatrix were mapping out a scouting route. Kuja was bound to hunt them down soon enough. And Dagger? She sat, depressed simply because she had nowhere else to be. She felt too heavily about Blank's words to continue speaking to Bronson for the day, but too stubborn about him mistaking it for something more to talk to him _or_ see Zidane.

And now Freya stood in the doorway, all eyes on her, "I just found Zidane…"

Confusion swept across the room as she sucked in a breath. There wasn't a lot of time to explain, but she figured she wouldn't get any support if she didn't say something more. "He was screaming for some girl named Elouise…" She shook her head, silver hair sliding over her shoulder, "Up, and trying to run into the hallway on his leg. I saw him and brought him back into his bed, but," again a shake of her head, "he fell unconscious, and I'm fearful."

There seemed to be a moment of hesitation, the information trying to be processed.

"Wait, what?" Marcus asked, as Blank sprang from his chair and stumbled down the hall. They heard him clattering along the floorboards until his footsteps fell from their range of hearing.

Beatrix and Vivi moved next, quick to get supplies from the cabinets, "Did you feel him at all? Was he warm?"

"Very… he seemed to have fever to the point of illusions…" She shook her head, "I had no idea what he was talking about."

Then too, Steiner and finally Dagger began to move about as well. "Well what the fuck? That's the first time he's woken up since he's been back!" Steiner grunted, hurriedly following Beatrix as she raced down the hall.

By the time they made it to Zidane's room, Blank was already ripping blankets off of him, and shucking his gloves from him, trying to get the clothing containing the heat off of his body.

"Is this one of those fevers that need to be sweat out? Or their temperature needs to be reduced?" Marcus growled, trying to get the pillows out from around his body. They weren't much, but they definitely controlled heat if someone were laying on them.

Beatrix strode over and felt his head, and cried out in panic, "His temperature is way too high… If it gets much higher, he's going to die!"

"Dammit!" Steiner cursed, rushing out of the room to seek more aid. Vivi cautiously moved towards the bed.

"Zidane!" He cried out, eyes shining worriedly, "Zidane you have to wake up!" He hadn't seen the blonde for a _very_ long time, but that didn't stop the mage from hoping that their bond was still as tight. "Zidane! You can't die!"

Dagger stood there dumbly, not knowing what to do. Here was the man that she might be in love with, his life fading faster than he could gain it back, two of his best friends stripping him down, Vivi trying to plead him back to life, and Beatrix drenching him with ice cold water.

And yet she could find nothing to do. There was no motivation to move whatsoever, and she didn't understand why she was so choked up.

"Dagger! Are you going to answer?" Freya shook her shoulders, and the girl's chocolate eyes finally came into focus.

"What?" She asked, the haze clearing from around her mind, snapping her back into reality.

"Can you do anything? Is there any sort of spell or _anything_?" Freya's eyes were wide now, as the situation heightened behind her.

Dagger shook her head, "I just don't know…"

Blank walked over to her, and glared in her direction, temporarily distracted from Zidane, "Dagger! Stop with this bullshit! I know you're upset over what I said!" His gaze seemed to harden with determination, "So then prove me wrong! You need to help him, or he's going to _die!_"

Squeezing her eyes shut, she wished this could all just be a dream, before they opened again. She blinked a couple times before pushing forward, and placing her hands on his face. Dagger cast a regen spell on him, and whipped around to face Vivi.

"Vivi! Do you know how to cast a simple blizzard spell? Nothing too powerful."

He nodded, confused as to what she was asking. "Okay, I need you to cast that on Zidane, on his shoulders and hands."

"What?" Everyone blinked at her in shock.

She shook her head, "I'll keep him alive with cures, but right now, his temperature needs to be dropped, and blizzard is the only way that he'll be able to do it!"

"O-okay…" Vivi didn't know if it was such a good idea, but he trusted Dagger, and even more so wanted Zidane to live. "Here it goes…" He cast out a light blizzard – as light as he could, but she shook her head.

"More!" She demanded, and focused on him, watching for signs to see if his health was going to fail. He groaned, and his eyes rolled – at least it was a sign he was still alive. But she knew it wasn't enough. The spell Vivi was casting was probably going to put a lot of strain on his body – even more so than what he endured with Kuja, because he was already weak.

But she knew what she was doing… Right?

?

She sat leaning against the pillar, watching over the baron land that used to once be a lush green, and vibrant emerald. Closing her matching eyes, she felt the cool breeze on her skin.

Kuja was furious…

An airship – a barely completed one they had obtained from Lindblum was sent to pick him and three quarters of the army up. He managed to blame enough people for the Tantalus escape to leave them, abandoned in Terra to explain to livid citizens why half of their city was destroyed.

She opened her eyes again, brushing her hair from her face.

"Why, Zidane? Why did it have to be like this?" She shook her head. They were on completely opposite sides now, and she hadn't seen him in around a year, where everything had been different.

Life continued, of course but there was always that nagging feeling in the back of her mind that everything was all wrong. Kuja had taken a special liking to her – and Avalanche too… She hadn't been able to find Griffin and Vienna… she just hoped wherever they were, they were alright.

And that brought her back to the blonde in question. Did he realize how important he was in this war? Did he realize that he was fighting for the wrong side? She had lived with him in Alexandria for a _long_ time… how in the world had he forgotten?

She flipped open her book, and skimmed the words.

_My dear sweet, we could leave the troubles behind, and thou shall be free of kindling fire of hate and rage, and thy shall protect you from all as you spread your wings and fly!_

She'd read this somewhere before… Zidane's play… Now in this Lord Avon book… It was so confusing – how could he have come up with something already published, but never be noticed about it? She knew it sounded familiar when he had talked to her about it…

She missed those days, and she wanted to know… She needed answers – just _why_ was he doing what he was doing? It was tearing her apart…

?

Vivi sat in the woods, up in the tree tops. Many, so accustomed to life underground, hated staring off into the trees, woozy of the height. To him though? It reminded him of the cavern that he and his grandfather used to live in. The sight he would see as he walked outside to find his family spices, so he could contribute to a delicious meal.

The black mage wondered if he'd ever see his grandpa ever again. It made him sigh – Zidane had promised to help him try, but… He wasn't so sure if it would happen It had been a long struggle to get Zidane's temperature into a safety zone again, and long after he left, worn out and exhausted of mana, a few people worked on trying to help him.

"Zidane…" He murmured, staring down towards the path.

But something caught his eye. He watched as it waddled on, as though it knew these woods by heart. It was a strangely shaped figure – short and plump, his head pointing up to the sky. Vivi's eyes widened, and he began scampering away, looking for a way down.

In the end though, he could only keep his golden eyes on the figure as he stumbled silently across bridges, until he got to the end of their progress in the trees. Slowly starting down the tree, he took a breath as he jumped from branch to branch – he didn't want to lose him!

Stumbling over his own two feet, he made it to the path, the wind howling around him. When had it suddenly gotten chilly, and why in the world were the leaves looking dull and dead, instead of the vibrant colors they normally were?

A gust of wind blew Vivi back, and he grabbed onto his hat, yanking it down until it covered his face as he rushed forward. When it was finally over, however, and his bright yellow eyes faced forward once more, the burly creature was gone.

In complete awe, he wondered forward, letting his guard down as he slowly moved closer to where he'd last seen the figure.

"What the –" he pushed forward with his hands, and that same gust of wind reached him, pushing him as he continually shoved into it, trying to beat it.

It ended abruptly, and he fell flat onto his face. Wincing, he glanced up and looked around, eyes widening at what he saw in the distance.

A village… And the creature he had seen walking towards it… Looked exactly like _him_.

?

**A/N: Wow! Talk about needing about ten more lines to end the chapter, and I haven't been able to do that in like… a couple of months! I hope you enjoyed this one though! :D**

**-zesty-**


	45. Chapter 44: Who Are You?

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 44: Who Are You?**

Vivi stood and straightened his eyes wide and scared. He thought about turning back to tell somebody but then stopped. He had always wondered where he had come from, and why the other black mages were so unresponsive, when he was perfectly functional. He tilted his head, narrowing his shining eyes.

This might be the only chance he had to answer his questions. The others might not understand, and who knows… maybe he could get in undetected…

He began walking closer to the village then, hearing low rumbles of chatter from far off, and smelling mouth watering food sizzling over fires. There were buildings – some new, and some _very_ old scattered around a centralized area. He could already tell there was a variety of stands, with mages much like himself selling things.

They all seemed to sound almost the same as Vivi, just with a bit of a different tone of voice, and definitely all looked the same. Each wore a pointy hat and gloves, with a dark almost non-existent face (they were such odd creatures, now that Vivi saw other well functioning ones besides himself), and shining eyes. Though a few of them had different colored eyes, unlike the shimmering gold that Vivi and many others had.

The closer he got, the more and more people looked up, their eyes widening. Eventually, a quiet alarm (yet loud enough for the whole village to hear) went off, signaling to everybody present that there was someone knew in their area. Each of them came out, staffs ready incase they needed to protect.

Vivi began to cry then. He didn't mean any harm – he was simply curious, and now he wasn't sure how to deal with things. He'd never been the leader in a situation before, and was confused as to what to do. "Zidane…" He cried out, yearning for the blonde who always protected him, even when they were in the fake Alexandria.

"Halt!" Somebody cried out, and immediately everybody lowered their weapons. The alarm silenced soon after that. Vivi glanced up to see a _huge_ mage – much bigger than the rest, with a long staff, a crystal incrusted in the top. His eyes glowed with great wisdom, and he stood proudly, with sheer confidence.

The wind seemed to blow in an effort to start some sort of activity. It seemed everything – including the one who had directed the command – had stopped, awaiting for something more to happen.

"Lower you're weapons to the ground… He does not mean any harm…" How had he been able to tell without talking to Vivi? He glanced down at himself though, and saw the pitiful shape he was in, and guessed it wasn't hard to tell… they were probably just defending themselves.

He tromped over to where Vivi was – cautiously, yet in a non-hostile way.

"Who are you, little one?"

"My name is Vivi…" He whispered with a cry.

A few of them gasped, and a murmur rose and fell in the crowd. "Hush!" He commanded, and everyone snapped their mouths shut. "How did you find us?"

"I…" He wondered if he should speak of their camp, but then realized that he couldn't lie to these mages. "There is a camp not too far away from here… I come from there, with humans, Bermecians, and other types of creatures… I followed another mage here…" He shook his head pitifully, "I've never seen another of my kind who can move and think freely for himself."

Almost every single one of the mages understood who Vivi was without him even realizing it. The one who had spoken to him immediately softened. "You have nothing to fear, Vivi… You are among friends…"

For some reason, this made him feel a ton more relaxed.

"Now come," He extended a hand to the littler mage, "And tell us a story…"

He nodded slowly and followed, watching as the group of mages all parted. Apparently, the one who he tailed held much authority and respect. The mages caved in once again as soon as Vivi passed, and began to follow, as though in an orderly line. They were curious as well…

"Tell us, as we are all anxious to know, how did you stumble upon the Outer Continent?"

Vivi had to decipher many things in his mind, before he could decide how to answer. He contemplated a lie, but also the truth, and eventually, the question spurted out without him realizing it, "Are you a follower if Kuja?"

Everybody stopped and turned towards him, and Vivi shrunk with embarrassment and fear. The tallest mage was the only one unphased as he threw his head back and laughed, "Little one, we have escaped many years of torment by Kuja… we are, of course, against him…"

Again, he let out a little puff of breath, relieved. He didn't want such a kind creature to follow such a horrible being. "Alright…" He tried to remember all of the steps to the story, "Could I start from the beginning?"

"Why yes of course!"

So Vivi recalled his days in a fuzzy Alexandria. Soon they stopped moving altogether, and everybody was invited to sit in the grass around this strange, young mage to hear his story. He told of sun and bright grass, with hopes and trade, and relationships that didn't falter with false trust or true alliances. And suddenly, his story broke into something more tragic. He retold him waking up and finding Zidane, and how they fled Alexandria with a strange group of people.

He was introduced to a place called Dali, and some mages nodded, as though they'd been there before. Vivi told of the hideout, and how Zidane and him were invited to join the resistance.

"Resistance?" Someone gasped, "You mean there are more like us?"

Vivi nodded, hope shining in his eyes, "We're going to try and stop Kuja, and the torture he places on the world." Things suddenly went silent, and he felt self-conscious again.

"That is a very big dream…" the head mage nodded, "But I respect it deeply… I only hope you succeed… Please continue with your story, as I am mainly interested in the details that lead you here…"

"We were found out, because Zidane went back to look for his friends. Nobody but us understands how confusing it is, to go about being real, when you thought your other world was real… You don't know if the people there are real or fake, and you don't know truly who your friends were or not…" He glanced up at the sky, remembering the horrible condition he last saw Zidane in, "I don't blame him at all for what he did, for if I had friends, I would have done the same."

"It was brave of him… And noble of you to be the first to stand behind him…" Vivi nodded in agreement.

"So once we were attacked, we fled to two hidden airships the resistance obtained." He left Cid out of the story, just incase… This was information that wasn't difficult to find out, even if you were quarantined from the rest of the world.

"And we eventually landed here… Made it to Conde Petie and pushed pass their guard… We've set up a camp not far off…"

"I see…" He sat thoughtfully for a while, before staring up at Vivi in wonder, "It is an honor to meet you, Dreamer Vivi…" If he could, Vivi definitely would have blushed, and shied away by pulling his had down to try and cover his face.

The mage stood and bowed down, all of the others mirroring his movements. Suddenly, Vivi was the tallest of the mages in the village, in contrast to being the smallest one, and smiled shakily. "Do you really feel so strongly?"

"Let me tell you a story now, little one…" He nodded all knowingly, inviting Vivi to sit with them.

Everyone but he knew the story, and now they were ready to relay it back to him. "This village has been around for centuries…" He nodded slowly, "But we do not all come from the same spot…" He slowly shook his head, almost sadly. "The black mage population was a very delicate, and rare race… Nobody, not even we ourselves, know where the first mage came from, but now we are here, and that is that… But others were manufactured for this God forsaken war… The plague of Dreamer Catching was probably when you were very young, therefore you probably do not remember much of it, if I'm correct?"

"The only thing I can remember about the past, was that my Grandpa would take care of me at a secret hot spring by Treno…" The mage nodded, understanding.

"We were there since the very beginning…" He sighed and turned away, motion towards them, "You see no difference between us, and yet, we are so different in many ways… The moment Kuja began to gain power, was the moment he started manufacturing black mages, to copy this sacred race that not many had even _seen_ before… And now we are a symbol of war and hatred, spread across the continents…" He turned back towards Vivi, "and let you stand as a symbol of hope…" He added solemnly.

"So we stay here, in our Black Mage Village, as our natural ancestors did before us, hidden from the rest of the world through illusive magic. Though the very strongest of people can break through it, if not allowed entry by the black mages… You, being a black mage, gained entry immediately, because this wood cannot tell the difference between you or me, whether we have met or not.

"Though sometimes… Soulless mages under Kuja's mind controlling command 'wake up'. It is a strange thing…" He threw a hand out to gesture to the crowd in front of him, "Suddenly, their eyes carry emotion, and heart, and they can remember things, protect things, and feel a variety of things… Many who just wake up have much to learn about the world, but can catch on quickly… Somehow, they are always drawn here, no matter the means to get here… Many have passed through Fossil Roo, a very dangerous place, simply to get here."

"Wow…" Vivi breathed, "I didn't think any of those mages could ever be able to have free will…" He shook his head, "I can't believe it… You mean they could be saved?"

The taller shook his head, "Not by us, they cannot be… We cannot talk to them, and try to force them into believing – they must find it on their own, and must fight to break free…"

Vivi glanced at all of his brethren. He had always wondered why he was the only walking, talking normal mage. It was because most of the others hid out of fear, until they could finally make it to a village that they would be accepted.

"What's your name?" Vivi finally asked, staring with awe at the wise mage.

"My name is Kamen…" He nodded, "And as you stay here longer, you will quickly learn the names of others as well…"

"Stay?" Vivi parroted with wonder.

He nodded again, "You may, if you wish… Of course we do not have a rule about leaving, but once most find us, they want to stay… But under a circumstance such as yours, I am curious as to what you'll choose to do…"

"I wouldn't want to leave…" He glanced around, seeing so many like him – with the same pain and worry in their eyes as to what will and could happen to their kind. "But, I couldn't stay either… My friends are fighting for a cause that I am so much a part of as well… I have to find my Grandpa, if he is still alive, and I couldn't abandon those who have helped me so much…"

Kamen nodded, "Well, I invite all of your friends to this village, though I do not suggest staying here… Though the woods is harmless, I would much rather keep separated too many of strange kinds, to those who are still weary of being here…"

Vivi yanked on his hat, and stood straighter with glee, "I understand… But I would love for you to meet them! We have Princess Dagger –"

'"Princess?" He gasped.

Vivi nodded, blushing because he forgot that many don't know about the princess being alive, "Garnet til Alexandros XVII is alive and well… She's the resistance leader, along with Cid Fabool IX, and knights Beatrix Sterling and Adelbert Steiner. We also have the disguised Tantalus Theatre group, and the second escaped dreamer, Zidane…"

Kamen gaped at the younger mage. "I cannot believe these words… Please, I must meet with them… This sounds like a great power!"

Vivi knew that he had just entrusted a lot of information within the black mages… But seeing their faces, and feeling their emotions from the very aura they gave off, he knew he could trust them. There wasn't anyone better to hold the secret than this village.

"I'll see what I can do…" He nodded, determined.

The joy in Kamen's voice was evident as he stood, inviting Vivi to take a tour around the village, and get to know some other mages, after a long awaited arrival.

?

_Dear Dagger,_

She kicked at the dirt, not really knowing where she was about to go.

_I guess… I guess if you received this, you know what happened…_

She moved away from the forest – away from the hideout, and away from her problems. The night was cool, and she had no problem bundling in her clothing to walk. She folded her arms across her chest, instead of clasping them behind her back as she normally did.

_Let me start off by saying I'm sorry…_

She closed her eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath as the wind picked up, rustling the leaves. It was a strange, shimmering sound, beginning in front of her and ending behind her. It was relaxing in a way.

_I guess I'm not really sure what to say… I've never been very good at good-byes. Heh, as you might be able to tell, I normally just disappear instead of making them… Though, the one good one I've had was with you…_

Soon though, she opened her eyes and began meandering around aimlessly again. All she knew was that she wanted open land, instead of the constant headache of trees she saw. She missed the grass and large pools of water, not to mention the cool nights and _rain_. Ohh how she missed the rain…

_I guess though, I wasn't planning on that being a good-bye… I really didn't plan for this to happen Dagger, but I wanted to do this… I needed to. Trust me, Blank wouldn't have let me if it would have been his choice…_

Eventually, the trees began to thin, though her mind was in a completely different place. Blinking lazily, she glanced around when she finally broke into the barren lands and sighed, her expectations far beyond what she saw.

_The time I've known everybody – you – has been amazing. I may not remember much about my life before I was taken, but… I do know, that I would never regret it, because it lead me to you. I don't think, if I would have stayed with Tantalus, we would have met in quite the same way._

Her breath puffed out of her, and she began walking with purpose.

_And that would be a shame, wouldn't it?_

Her legs ached as she climbed the hill, it being much steeper than the last time she had emerged on top of it. But she was slowly beginning to see things from a much higher point of view, and she was delighted when she eventually reached the top.

_I guess I don't really have much to say. I don't regret any of it, not even dying for the purpose of protecting everybody, and most importantly… you… I'm sorry it's not long, but what can I say? I hate writing like I'm narrating my own obituary. _

Dagger sighed and sat down, chocolate eyes scanning the area. Her fingers dug into the dirt, uprooting a little grass, as her long legs stretched out in front of her. What was she doing out here by herself? Evaluating? What exactly?

Her head drooped in front of her, and she let her face drop into her hands.

_I'm really glad I got the pleasure of meeting you, and I know that no matter what happened to me, or what happens to others, you're going to pull Alexandria out of its ashes as a flower…_

"Why am I not with Zidane?" She questioned out loud, though to nobody but herself.

_You're stronger than you think you are, and I think a lot of other people know that as well…_

"Why am I not there, trying to fight this battle with him?" She yelled then, knowing she had the peace to do whatever she wanted.

_You're going to make a good queen…_

"I hate this…" Tears pricked at her eyes, but she promised herself she wouldn't cry anymore.

_I think I've decided something while through this whole big mess…_

"Why can't everything just go back to the way it was?" She stared out into the night sky, twinkling as though taunting her miserable state. "Why couldn't Kuja be gone! Why couldn't he be _dead_!" She more pleaded than questioned, "I wish I could go back to before the war… Hell! I wish I could go back to _Dali!_ With Zidane alive and well, and before stupid Bronson had to go purposely starting trouble, and before everybody was so stressed they couldn't function…"

_I love you, Dagger… Not a decision maker, not a princess nor a queen, not a leader, or somebody that I need to rely on to do everything for me… You're just a girl – just Dagger…_

"Why?" She asked one more time, her voice pitiful as she laid back in the patch of grass.

The whole war was taking a toll on everybody, and she knew it needed to end soon. They either needed to win, overpowering Kuja and reclaiming the kingdom all for nothing, or they needed to lose and be executed, the world's hope gone with it…

But first and foremost, Zidane needed to heal. And she needed to be by his side. So she knew that he loved her… And she made it clear to herself (and their best friend) that she loved him… Instead of moping in the grass, she should be there with him, helping him fight of fever, infection, and pain.

Smiling a little and springing up, she glanced around one more time, at the suddenly serene environment, before taking off at a sprint, quick enough that one wrong movement could send her sprawling down the hill.

Through the trees she burst, easily picking the one that lead underground. Stealthily, she made her way past slumbering resistance members, careful not to creak the floorboards too much as she moved passed.

And down the hall a little ways, to the infirmiry that was only occupied by one, she pushed open the makeshift door.

He was laying there unmoving, with Freya leaning against the wall in the corner. When she moved in, the Bermecian made no movement to acknowledge her presence. Dagger wondered briefly if Freya could sleep like that, but shook the thought out of her mind as she sat next to Zidane.

Gingerly, she picked up his hand and studied his body. It seemed to be healing a little, but nothing comparable to the amount of damage he took. It might take a long time for him to get over it, and she needed to be right there next to him the whole time…

"Hey Zidane…" She murmured to the blonde, her voice motherly and gentle. There was hardly a shift in the room as she leaned forward, checking on his temperature. It was still fiery, but nothing compared to what she'd felt on his forehead earlier. His body was probably exhausted from the constant maneuver of spells to get his fever down.

A few moments later, she glanced back to make sure she hadn't woken Freya to find the girl had vanished from the room. Raven hair bobbed every time she shook her head. Befuddled, the princess turned her attention back towards the thief, and leaned forward towards him.

"I bet talking to you really helps…" She breathed, hoping her breath might send a cooling sensation over him – at least a little bit.

"Blank told me a little bit of what happened…" The teenager was quiet for a moment, before she continued, "And I really hope that you're okay… Not physically, obviously…" she laughed at how silly she sounded at the moment, "But of course, mentally… Kuja spoke of Elouise…" Dagger was unsure how to continue for a few moments. Of course she had heard of the girl, but not how she acted or what she looked like… It was almost… _awkward_ speaking of the girl who Zidane held so dear to him, but she had no idea about.

"If she was a good friend of yours…" She smiled slightly, tilting her head and pushing stray hairs behind her ear, "I would love to meet her… If you were her friend, she must be a good person…" A slow nod bobbed her head, before she lifted her shoulders into a shrug, "I wish… I wish I knew a little more about her…"

A haze settled over the two of them as she sat, rubbing her thumb over the smooth skin of his hand. Chocolate orbs scanned his bare body, stripped right down to his shorts. She blushed, feeling almost guilty that she was seeing Zidane in such an attractive way when he was torn to bits.

"I read your letter…" He voice lowered to a whisper, though she wasn't exactly sure why. "I love you too…" She murmured in his ear, before lightly pressing her lips to his cheek.

She sat back up and glanced around, before her had snapped back to the blonde. There was the faintest squeeze of her hand, and she stared down at it in shock. "Zidane?" She questioned, her voice alert and no longer in a dreamy state.

But there was nothing, and she bent forward again, brushing the matted hair out of his eyes, "Zidane…" She blew breath in his face, and kissed the corner of his mouth, waiting to see if there would be another reaction. An even fainter squeeze this time, but this sent a smile soaring to her lips. "You're going to be fine… You're going to wake up soon, and I'm going to be right here to see you when you do…"

She laid her head on the side of the bed, over her folded arms, though she still held tightly to his hand. Her eyelids fluttered shut, and now that the turmoil inside of her was gone, drowsiness overtook her, and she fell into a comfortable slumber.

?

"A village of black mages?" Cid shook his head, baffled. "I've never heard of such a thing in all of my years…" a thoughtful look passed over his features, before he laughed, "Why yes of course! I'd love to meet them!" He grinned goofily, "Vivi! Thank you for finding this discovery out! This is so… helpful to our situation!" A certain amount of glee had him almost skipping about the room the next morning.

Vivi had spent the night in the camp with the black mages, getting to know them, and familiarizing himself with certain buildings there. One thing he was itching to check out (but knew he had much too much new information fed to him already) was the library, hoping to search their history books. If even Cid hadn't heard of such a thing, their history must have been pretty private.

He had learned that this select group of humans would be the first ever to set foot inside of the village. Kamen told of how important it was to have a trusting alliance, simply because of the circumstances in which the world was at right now.

Vivi let on a grin as he watched Cid waltz around the room. Hopefully, he would pick good people to go, so that a bad first impression wasn't set over them. But there was something the black mage wanted to request, but he was scared.

Beatrix, sitting quietly in the corner to listen to the conversation, could sense this, and stared at the black mage, wondering if he would make his question known. Eventually, she leaned forward, catching his eye as Cid preoccupied himself with humming, and nodded to Vivi, telling him he should ask.

"Sir Cid… Sir?"

"Yes, Master Vivi!"

"I Uh…" He pulled down his hat, becoming tongue tied with shyness, "Even if he doesn't make it there the first time, I'd like Zidane to be one of the few you pick to come with to the village…"

Cid blinked in surprise, even though in his mind, he wasn't really all that shocked. He could tell that the two dreamers shared a special bond that wouldn't be broken by a month apart. He let on a tender smile, "Of course he can…" He nodded.

Vivi smiled and looked up at the man with admiring eyes, "Thank you…"

"You're welcome, Vivi…" He placed a hand on the mage's shoulder, before dancing out of the room. "I look forward to this visit! We'll leave in an hour!"

Vivi glanced at Beatrix, who gave and wink and stood as well, "I should probably get ready…" She gestured to herself, showing that she was still in her sleeping shirt, the only armor she sported was her armored pants and combat boots. "I'll see you soon, Vivi…"

"Okay!" He watched her go, and decided he wanted to tell Zidane about the village, even if he'd have to repeat the story again once the boy was actually conscious. Believe it or not, it was first Vivi who had talked to the boy in his slight coma, and now, he had quite a few people doing the same thing.

Walking out into the hall, he glanced around, and continued down the pathway to the infirmary. He was excited to have his friends meet someone else of his own kind… Not just one – but dozens of black mages waltzed around that village! Ecstatic and positive feelings began to bubble within him, and he let out a small, chipper laugh just to test it out.

It seemed some things could still make people happy, and that's what he would focus on all for now…

?

**A/N: Wow! That was surprisingly hard to write… I hope you enjoyed it! Vivi and his black mage friends, and a little thrown in Dagger/Zidane fluff! Yay! Hopefully, he'll be waking up soon… It's boring without the main character, right? ;)**

**Leave me some love!**

**-zesty-**


	46. Chapter 45: A Time Worth Waiting For

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fnatasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**A/N: I wish I was still getting reviews! :( that makes me sad, because I love this story!**

**Chapter 45: A Time Worth Waiting For**

A week passed, and both Cid and Vivi had been spending more time in the Black Mage Village. The regent was learning so many things he had absolutely no knowledge of previous to his first encounter with them, and Vivi was getting to know those of his same kind.

But of course, his loyalties still fell with Zidane, and helping to get him back to his normal health. Currently, he was sitting in the infirmary room with Dagger, who was sipping a cup of water.

Things had slowed down since Tantalus had gotten home. Of course, everybody was constantly checking on Zidane, whether they cared deeply for his well-being, or simply wanted to whole gory story to go along with the details of the other members – either way, there were many people whose attention was still fully on him.

Blank had _finally_ been convinced to leave the hospital room and get some rest, as he'd probably gotten the least amount of sleep out of them all, not wanting to fall into a slumber when Zidane could wake up, or worse… wake up with illusions once again.

A groan wafted from the bed, and though Vivi had grown accustomed to it, with no further action afterwards, both resistance members still locked their eyes on his figure, waiting for something more.

Suddenly, a hand slowly raised from the bed, shakily and weak, but causing the two to spring into action.

"Zidane!" They both yelped, stumbling over everything in their path simply to get close to him. The raven's water went flying, and the cup lay abandoned on the floor.

He groaned again, rubbing his head gently to try and make the throb go away, "Ugh…"

"Zidane…" Dagger grabbed his other hand, and the quick contact caused his eyes to flutter open. It was a slow process, but it was actually happening.

"What happened…" He grumbled, blinking to keep the light from his eyes. Vivi immediately reduced the lighting in the room, and leaned closer.

"You're awake!" He exclaimed.

"Is that so –" his sentence was interrupted when a flood of pain and memories came rushing back to him, slamming into him with the force of a wave. Hs hand dropped to his side, and a louder groan erupted from dry lips. "Did that all seriously happen?"

"You mean how you've just given us a _huge_ upper hand in this war at the possible cost of your own life?" The hysteria in her voice caused his eyes to creak open and stare at her. A vibrant sapphire shined through slights, piercing her own dull, chocolate eyes. It was strange now, seeing something so beautiful and shimmering on him, after over a week of no voice or beautiful eyes to stare into.

"Are you okay?" He questioned stupidly.

"You're awake!" She yelled out suddenly, completely uncharacteristically of her, but she still did it anyways. "I can't believe it…" she whispered.

Vivi tried to stifle his sniffles, but was unsuccessful as he hid his face in his hat, "I'm really glad to see you, Zidane…"

Though his body throbbed in places he didn't even know existed, it all seemed to dull when he saw the reaction of these two. They were so happy… the memories of what happened were so fuzzy, he wasn't sure what was real, and what wasn't.

"Guys…" He croaked, not really knowing what else to say.

Without thinking about it, she flung her arms around his neck, but Zidane bit back his groan so she could hug him. He couldn't believe that ironically, these were the two around when he first woke up.

And then, all of that happiness seemed to vanish as he recalled his last few memories before he was knocked out from the pain. The fire – suddenly his leg burned, the screaming – suddenly his throat ached, the constant mix of spells – soon his whole body began to shake. She pulled back and glanced at him worriedly.

He sucked in a sharp breath, forcing all of those memories out. The pain was still evident, but right now wasn't the time to think about what happened. She kissed his nose, "We have to get Blank… He's been in here ever since you guys got back…"

He glanced around the room, "Where is _here_, exactly?"

"Our new Dali…" She winked, "We take cover in the trees and underground, and," she elbowed Vivi delightedly, "in the Black Mage Village to the east…"

His eyes ripped off of hers and stopped on Vivi, "Whaaat?"

He felt heat go to his cheeks though he knew they couldn't see him blush. He pulled his hat down further before wiggling a little bit, and letting it go. The two watched as the edges flopped back up, "I found a village of _live_ black mages… and not just the ones that are stupid and don't listen and work for Kuja and hurt people…" It all seemed to come out in a rush, as though the little guy was far too excited to tell the blonde. "I wish you will come see it once you're able to move around…"

He laughed, even though it hurt his ribs, "Of course, Vivi! That sounds great! You'll have to tell me about it more later!" The mage nodded, but then seemed to decide something, and slid off the seat.

"I'll go find, Blank…" He waddled out of the room, closing the curtain after him. Zidane swore he saw Vivi wink as he turned around. But that wasn't important right now… What was important was…

"Dagger…" He smiled weakly at her, and she quickly cast a few powerful cures on him. He breathed, feeling instantly better, though he understood it would be a while before he could be up and moving – at least he could wiggle a little without this hurting.

Her eyes danced as she gripped his hand loosely, "Hey," she greeted, so informally that Zidane had to laugh. He smiled and reached up to her, his thumb brushing over her cheek.

They sat in silence for a long time, their motions towards each other speaking far more than words. Each knew the first question that was going to come was going to be about Kuja's assault, and what exactly happened, but both of them knew that the blonde wasn't sure whether he was going to tell the raven about it or not.

Eventually, he sat up slowly (with Dagger's help of course), and leaned forward, never letting her go as he pulled her in. It was a quick, but tender kiss as their lips briefly met. Somehow that meant so much more than a passionate make out session at the moment. And then she hugged him once more. It was soft, and though she wasn't crying, she felt all of the sadness in the world fall down on both of their beings.

Surprisingly, the subject of her question changed by the time she asked it, "How much of a chance do we have to win?" It was so soft, Zidane wasn't sure he'd heard it right, but knowing he had, and understanding she was waiting for an answer, he closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, not willing to let her go just yet.

A few more moments passed before he pulled back from her and gave her a small smile. "To be honest?" He shrugged, and she could almost guess he was about to be modest, "Alone, or separated we are not going to win… But I think if all of us together fight, we might have a chance…"

"But…" she coaxed, knowing there was more.

"Kuja is powerful… and in all reality, for an average member of this resistance, so are his guards and mages…" He shook his head, "If every other Dreamer is as strong as Vivi is, or even me to a certain extent…" He trailed, but picked back up again, "I just don't know how it'll play out… We need luck…"

"Luck is something we're good at," she commented with optimism.

He chuckled at her, and pushed her hair out of the way. It had grown down to her shoulders now, and he smiled at it. "Your hair's grown so much…"

"You've missed so much…" Even though he hadn't, it felt like he'd been away from her for _years_. She could feel herself mature, and take on more responsibilities, and she wasn't sure how exactly to handle that. Being here with Zidane now, however, made all of her worries melt away into nothingness.

He chuckled at her and numbly shook his head, "Nah… I think you've been okay without me…" He nodded and smiled at her, and she rolled her eyes, "But I'm glad to be back…" She settled into a tender smile then, and brushed his bangs from his azure eyes.

"Blank told me a little of what happened…" she murmured, knowing that even if the redhead had told her, she still wanted to hear it from him.

The blonde sighed and tore his eyes away from her, unable to think of what to say. "I'm sorry…"

"For what?" She questioned, tilting her head to her side.

"That you heard…"

"I asked…" She countered, and sucked in a breath, "And I want to know what happened from _you_, since Blank wasn't there for very long – or so I hear…" She scooted closer, a grin on her face, "Plus… I've never been to Terra… I'd really rather like to hear about it…"

He chuckled and glanced at her, wondering he really should tell her what happened. The weakness he showed, and that strange pulsating light that had filled his body. What _was_ that even? He'd have to ask Beatrix or Cid about it – the two smartest people he knew. Maybe even Freya would know… _Freya…_ Should he tell Dagger of how he'd met Freya long ago? Would the Bermecian even remember him? He didn't know for sure… And besides… who knows if he really remembered the whole thing? Though it would be important information for later, what kind of person would want to constantly recall almost dying?

Before he could answer her in anyway though, Blank burst through the room, and Zidane could tell more were behind him from all of the bustling.

The redhead basically flew to his bed side, slightly visible eyes shining with almost every question under the sun, "How are you feeling?!" The blonde smiled, and was about to answer, before all of Tantalus stumbled through the door simultaneously, along with a hefty amount of other members, itching to see if the blonde really was alive, or groaned a few times before his certain death.

"Zidane!" Everybody seemed to be yelling, along with showering him with questions asking how he was feeling, what happened, was he okay, could he remember? And so on and so forth. He blinked a few times as his head began to spin, trying to focus on everybody at once.

"Give him some room!" Cinna howled above everyone, shoving violently backwards. Though it wasn't very graceful, everybody did take a few steps backward to give the blonde some breathing room.

It was silent for a moment, before the other Tantalus member instructed them to ask one at a time. A boom of questions peppered the blonde again, before Cinna barked, and slowly, Zidane could narrow it down to one.

"Are you okay?!"

"I don't think I would be if I didn't have Dagger's white magic…" He laughed and tossed a glance at the girl, who forced her eyes away, blushing. "She's even the reason right now that I can sit up…"

A murmur seemed to rise, then slowly fall in the room as everyone contemplated this, as though it were an interview for royalty or a high-ranked noble.

"Can you remember what happened?" One Bermecian in the crowd dared ask. Zidane averted his eyes to the bed, where he was subconsciously gripping the bed sheets, balling them tightly into his fists without even realizing it.

He exhaled and glanced at the people in the room. "Is everybody prepared for the story?"

The room was still, and he took this as his queue to move forward. "I just kind of stood in the street, waiting for something to happen. It didn't take long for the _huge_ ship to anchor into the street, not caring what it was devouring in its path…" Zidane shook his head, "All of the destruction probably took the homes of many people in Terra…" He glanced away and was quiet for a moment, before he began again, "I was up against an entire army. At first, I took them on, and was doing pretty good… But for every one that I took down, four more showed up in his place. So I ran…"

"You ran?" Someone parroted in the crowd, and the blonde nodded.

"There was nothing more I could do. I was chased down the streets of a place I'd barely known by an entire evil army… Kuja stayed where he was, booming orders at his guards, and threats in my direction. The only good thing, was that he thought I was alone…"

"So he wasn't even expecting an ambush…?"

"It wasn't so much an ambush," Cinna answered for him. "Zidane was supposed to be used as bait so we could steel the ship… We never expected though, for Kuja to fight him head on… It was too dangerous, and though we won ownership over the ship, I wouldn't do it again for all of the ships in the entire world."

People contemplated this for a moment, before Zidane asked if he could continue. "I hid out in a random house for awhile," he decided to keep out that it was his own childhood home he rested in, just because he knew those details weren't important to anyone but himself, "And as soon as they caught onto that , I ran again…" He sucked in a breath through a thin line in his mouth, and then peeked up at everyone to see their reactions to his words. They all were frozen like statues, awaiting his next words.

"When I finally returned to my starting point, I knew the only thing to do was to engage Kuja… Luckily, it was a one on one fight, and the army wasn't going to get involved…" There seemed to be a cumulative sigh of relief before he continued, "At first everything was alright…" He nodded, "Neither of us had lost our cool, and I was able to dodge all of his blows…"

He knew the shameful part was coming up, and he looked back down at the sheets before he continued. "He started to talk about an old best friend…" A few who knew the story squeaked, their sympathy for him showing, "And how she was working with him…" Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to continue without choking up. "She's with him now…"

Dagger walked closer and put a comforting hand on his own in his lap, and he glanced up at her with hurt eyes. He didn't have to ask the question for her to have no answer. _Why? _His eyes seemed to say, but she couldn't think of a thing to say.

"That's when my moves started to get sloppy…" He sighed.

"Anyone's would have," a random person in the room sympathized with him. He was a little older, and probably had kids of his own at one point, but it was hard to tell for sure.

"He landed a couple of blows on me with his powerful magic. It was really scary…" Zidane decided to share, "I never thought I would ever meet someone so powerful in my life, and here I was, facing him with no allies…"

"What did you do?" Someone in front whispered.

"There was this strange feeling that overcame me…" He shuddered, and glanced up, staring at them all with questioning eyes, probing them to see if they had an answer, "I felt power and energy surging through my veins as though it were my blood…" He shook his head, not being able to conjure an answer, "My vision became sharper, and my exhaustion left me… My whole body seemed to have a purple glow, and I landed a couple powerful hits on Kuja, that kept him speechless. One last hit pissed him off…" The Genome had a lopsided grin on his face.

"He threw me back, and suddenly my energy was gone, and I could barely stand… I don't know what it was…"

People began to murmur amongst themselves, wondering what sort of God Zidane had to be to hold such power. "Could it be a trance?" Steiner questioned, moving forward in the crowded room. All eyes then landed on him, he thought for a moment. "A long time ago, before I was Captain of the Nights of Pluto –" somehow Beatrix still found a way to laugh, despite the situation, and though some knew how silly the brunette made his old team out to be, no one knew the exact story. He shot a glare at the woman, "- the Captain before me spoke of such a thing…" He shook his head, "He said it was entirely rare, and most thought he was insane when he spoke of it… They told him that it was impossible – just a folk tale to get soldiers to try and train hard enough to achieve it someday… But, that sounds exactly like it…"

"Do you honestly think that it could be real, Steiner?" Dagger asked, tilting her head to the side. Her own chocolate eyes seemed to shine with question.

He sighed, knowing he didn't have a solid answer, "I don't know…" He admitted with a nod, "Sometime, we'll have to take it up with Cid, and see if he knows anything about it… But please, continue your story, Zidane…" He, for once, shot the blonde a kind and urging look.

"Rusty's warmin' up to me…" He grinned, and soon that almost respectable look was replaced with a glare.

"Shut up, thief!" Zidane rolled his eyes.

"It starts to get fuzzy after that… All I know, was that there was a lot of pain." He gestured down at his broken body, "I broke my leg, and he was taking a lot of good hits on me… The magic spells were even worse than before, as though he was even more pissed off than he normally was…" He shrugged then, "I just remember fire, and pain, and then I went unconscious…"

It was then they started to glance at the other Tantalus members, as though expecting them to pick up the story. When no one seemed to want to tell the tell, Cinna stepped forward. "When we got back, the situation was bad…" He shook his head, "Marcus said we were going to have to jump out of the ship, and figure out how to get him out of there… We were the bait for Kuja's raging forces, as Marcus tossed Zidane over his shoulder and ran. We all had to jump back on the ship, but once we were there… we were free…"

"We didn't know if Zidane was dead, or alive…" Blank mumbled, a whole new tone overtaking his voice. "At first, I couldn't hear a heartbeat, and neither could Marcus…" Then he turned towards his best friend, and slapped a hard hand on his shoulder, swaying him a little, "Then this asshole decided to wake up being a smartass!"

Zidane grinned at him like a small child on Christmas, and chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"That's pretty much the end of the epicness," Cinna concluded, and everybody already had more questions for him. But of course, a few knew better, and ushered everybody to come back later.

Grudgingly, they agreed, and then there was Vivi, Dagger, Blank, Steiner, Beatrix, and Cinna left in the room.

It was quiet for a moment, the words more solemn to these, even though the story had ended with such humor. They heard footsteps and listened in anticipation who would be at the door. Beatrix suspected it would be Freya, with how light they were, and seconds later, her suspicions were proven correct.

She tipped up her hat so Zidane could see a glint of her silver eyes. "Zidane… It's good to see that you're awake…"

He shot her a shaky smile, then glanced at everyone else, "Could I have a moment with Freya?"

Everyone nodded and filed out, though he knew at least half of them would be close by, trying to listen in on the conversation.

She raised a curious eyebrow at him, as she sat down in the chair, neatly crossing her legs. "What is it, Zidane?"

He smirked at her then, and crossed his arms, "How long was it going to take, before you told me?" She looked startled for a moment, searching his face to see if she could get a feel for what he was talking about, and then she visibly relaxed, leaning back and chuckling.

"I figured I would let you come to me… I didn't want to scare you incase you did not remember…"

He glanced over to the table, and picked up the rustic, but now frighteningly sharpened, dagger that had been with him almost through everything. "You never did tell me why the ruby was so important…" He glanced back up at her, and she smiled.

"It was Fratley's."

"Oh?" He questioned with a raise of his brow, suddenly interested.

"A Bermecian life span is much, much longer than that of a human…" She explained briefly, "While I looked the same age as you when we were so young, I had been on this world for twenty years already…" She nodded at him, then flickered a smile at his shocked expression. "We were oh so young when I met Sir Fratley. He was twice my age, and though it may seem bad to you, that difference is probably only about you to Dagger, or perhaps maybe even Steiner to Beatrix…" She shrugged, "I was taken with him the first time I met him, when we instantly became friends…

"He spoke of traveling the world with his parents…" She sighed, "They were loving creatures – to nature, to others, and to those they didn't even know anything about…" She sighed, "They were more like parents to me, than anyone ever had been… And when they left to travel to places unknown to Fratley, to see if they could help in the war efforts, he gave me this ruby…" She glanced at it longingly, "It was his mother's, and what his father had given to her the day they were wed. She put it into a dagger in hopes of Fratley giving it to someone he cared for who needed protection, knowing the beauty of the ruby in such a rustic dagger would give hope…"

Freya seemed to search his face deeper than she had before, and Zidane was worried she wouldn't find what she was looking for in it. "I passed it on to you, because I had a feeling I would see you again… And I knew that you needed it far more than I did at that moment in time…"

"Wouldn't you ever want the ruby back?"

"Only if you have no use for the whole dagger…" He suddenly cradled it protectively, not wanting to let go. "But do not worry about returning it to me… The ruby is a materialistic item, now that Fratley and I are together again…"

"Why were you so far from Bermecia being on that ship?"

"I tried to follow Fratley and his family. It was the first time he'd left, and had I known he would come back, or this wouldn't be his only time leaving, I would have waited for him… But I blindly followed the ones who cared for me most, but ironically followed in a completely different direction. I ended up at the Fire Shrine on the Lost Continent," She finished with a wry smile. "He had only traveled as far as the North Gate…"

Maybe it was the irony of the story, her perhaps the peculiar tone of voice she used, but Zidane couldn't help but burst out laughing. "You're kidding…"

She chuckled as well, much to his relief, "They found a war effort there, and decided to stop to help… Though it took a long time for the gruesome effects of war to make them want to return home – far after I was already back in my place, traveling from Lindblum blindly across the plains, hoping to someday find home – they decided not to travel any further."

Another chortled escaped the blonde as he shook his head, "What a cruel world…"

She shrugged, "And yet here we are, surviving…"

He suddenly looked at her very seriously, "And that's exactly what we're going to do…" She seemed surprised at his suddenly determined voice. "Kuja won't win… I won't let him take down the ones I care about most…"

She smiled and gestured to the dagger, "That's exactly why I let you keep it… If you do not return it to me someday, I will not be here to return it to…" She let out a puff of air, "If we fail, we all fail together…"

"We won't," he assured, and leaned against the bed frame.

"You should rest…" Freya murmured, crossing the room, and placing a hand on his head in a tender gesture, just as she had to comfort him when they were young. His remembrance of that boat ride suddenly made them very old friends, and extremely close, though it was more in a sense of brother and sister, though from completely different places in the world.

He nodded to her, and was already starting to drift as he watched her form, filled with the red of her clothing, leave the room.

Though drunken with sleep, he intended to keep the promise that he'd just laid upon the Bermecian.

?

**A/N: OH MY GOD! First of all, to all of those still reading this story I'M SO SORRY! I have like 5 chapters done ahead of what I have uploaded on fanfic, but I didn't realize it at all… I thought I was all caught up and didn't have any padding, and had major writer's block, but NOPE! You guys don't know what'sh appening with Zidane, or with Dagger Bronson Vivi anybody!**

**I hope you are still enjoying! Thank you to anonymous reviewer: Guest. He/She was the one who reminded me I hadn't updated in forever and was actually the reason I went and checked.**

**Please review! Tell me you're still out there… even though I haven't done a good job of letting YOU know that! **

**-zesty-**


	47. Chapter 46: Maybe There's Still Hope

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX, or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Just another chapter… :D**

**Chapter 46: Maybe There's Still Hope**

A few weeks had passed, and finally, Zidane was able to walk around their new premises. He had declined multiple tours, and decided to just meander around, seeing what there was to see. Vivi had a surprise for him later, but he still had a few hours to kill.

Things had been going so well for them… They hadn't been figured out – which was honestly a surprise, now that there were four airships in their possession. Under great, and new magic, from one of the girls who dwelled in Terra, they were able to keep the ships pretty much invisible.

Right now, the blonde had stopped to take a rest in the grass, leaning up against the rough bark of a tree. He fiddled with a few flowers he'd absentmindedly plucked from the grass, his azure eyes staring almost straight ahead. The small breeze rustled his clothes, and he closed his eyes for a moment, sucking in the soft breath of the forest.

It was so different than Terra here, and though he liked the lights, and mysteries of his native world, he found it much more relaxing to be out in the open. He'd never been one to be cooped up too long, and it would have only been a matter of time before _he_ went knocking on _Kuja's_ door, had he not shown up when he did.

It was great to finally be outside, solely because he'd been locked up in a room, bed ridden, for a few weeks. As soon as he could walk again, they started to assemble groups to take off in the airships, landing in different parts of the world to recruit.

It would be an extremely dangerous mission every time they left these grounds of their new hideout. Zidane couldn't believe the number of volunteers to venture _back_ to Dali. That was probably going to be one of the most dangerous places they could possibly wander into, and yet, a mass amount of the resistance yearned just to _see_ the place they had once called home again.

There would also be a ship eventually landing in the Western part of the Mist Continent, hopefully recruiting from Cleyra, Lindblum, Bermecia, and every small village and resistance group in between. Treno would be a trip for Tantalus, when Zidane was strong enough, though Blank was weary – that being the last place he'd lost his best friend once before.

One would also make a trip to both the Fire Shrine and Esto Gaza across the waters, though the blonde knew that he wouldn't be included on another overseas trip. He couldn't forget Ispen, the Water and Wind shrine, Oeilvert, Daguerro, and a few villages along the way. Quina had also said something about many people over there taking refuge in Qu's Marsh, hoping that Kuja wouldn't bother with a swampy area. They trusted their cooking friend enough to check it out, though with the villain's wretched influence lined so thickly over the rest of the world, nobody really had a lot of faith there would be anyone there willing to risk everything to help.

Zidane knew that this was going to be a huge leap of faith, and hypothetically, this could take _months_ to finish, let alone training everyone, and trying to get an attack plan ready on Alexandria. He cringed knowing that it would be hard for some – most of the original members – to go back to the abandoned kingdom and destroy it, but he understood that that's what they needed to do.

With all of this going through his thoughts though, this wasn't what he was most worried about. His problem was the blonde girl. His heart ached when he thought of what Kuja had said to him that night… The fact that she could be _evil_ now truly wasn't even an option in his mind, though… if Kuja's words had tainted her, he worried that she and he would go up against each other in a fight… And that fight, Zidane knew, he would lose… Even if Elouise had done terrible, horrible things – he wouldn't be able to kill her…

"Zidane…" The voice shook him from his thoughts, ripping him from the images forming in his mind. It started him, and he looked up, befuddled, as the hefty man strolled up to him.

He was still very professional, and held a little too much pride in himself when he walked, but Zidane understood that he was trying to tone it down, so he didn't come off as a complete asshole… at least, that's what the blonde wanted to tell himself.

"Rusty… what's up?" He showed a crooked grin as a crease formed in the man's helmet. "Do you ever take that armor off?" An embarrassed blush crept onto the man's face.

"That's not the point…" He grunted, slowly sitting down next to Zidane. He cast his eyes out over the horizon, never really understanding how people could simply _stare_ into space, even with thoughts overwhelming them, without doing anything.

They sat in silence for a moment, Steiner trying rather hard to stare, in an attempt to figure out with the beauty behind it was, and Zidane glanced, as curious as a small child, at the former knight, wondering exactly what it is he wanted if he wasn't going to speak.

"Are you gonna talk?" Zidane laughed as the man shook his head, being torn out of _his_ thought process.

Steiner cleared his throat sheepishly, and leaned back on his palms, uncharacteristically stretching his legs out in front of him. "You know what's coming soon… don't you?"

As much as the Genome felt the urge to make a comedic comment, he held his tongue and nodded slowly, blinking lazily. "Yeah… I do…" There he went – staring at the horizon again. The sun's rays peaked out from behind a cloud for a few moments, and both silenced, willing to soak up their heat while they lasted.

Only seconds later, it disappeared again, and Steiner opened his eyes to continue. "Then you know how dangerous it's going to be…"

This time, Zidane only nodded.

"No screw ups…" Steiner murmured, sighing in defeat, "I know that… It must be hard for you, and do not for one moment assume that I think I understand the types of feelings you're going through, but…" Azure eyes locked with steely grey in shock shock, "When I was traveling with Fratley, unsure who was alive, and who had perished, after the attack on Dali, I believe I finally realized that perhaps that's what constantly ate away at you every single day – that held you back from something that maybe you could have perfected…" He shook his head.

"I know I do not understand fully what you're going through, but I do know somewhat ofthe feeling of not knowing what ally is still alive… When the thought crossed my mind that… Well… that Beatrix –" He was having a hard time admitting his feelings, but Zidane let on an encouraging smile, showing the knight that he knew what he was trying to say. "When I thought Beatrix could have been dead…" He shook his head, "I didn't know what I might do with myself…"

"Believe me…" Zidane mumbled, "She didn't know what to do with her self either…"

Steiner sucked in another breath, "I apologize for having such a curt attitude with you… I see now that you mean no harm, and that you're only trying to do what is best for others, but also trying to put your mind at peace too, so that you can fight with us to your full potential."

"Why are you telling me this?" The Genome wondered, turning fully to glance at him.

"It is no secret about you and Dagger…" He sighed, "Where I thought _you_ were irritating, Bronson was even more so… He has developed a sort of fondness for Dagger that just seems _off_." Steiner shook his head, "I wouldn't worry about it, but I only say this because there is going to be a lot of difficulty ahead…" He licked at his lips and wiped his gloved hands on his legs, as though trying to swipe away some of his nerves.

"I just want to know that you will be there to protect her, and not assume anything…" He shook his head, for what seemed the umpteenth time in the conversation, "I won't be able to protect her forever, that much I know… but you can… and you will – I'm giving you this chance thief, don't mess it up… Something as fragile as love has a hard time sometimes during times of war and death… Do not stop trying though…" He shrugged, not saying anymore.

Zidane took a few long moments to contemplate everything Steiner had just told him. Though none of it was exactly news to him, he felt suddenly touched that the former night had taken the time to come and speak with him. Maybe Rusty wasn't so bad after all… and just had a stick up his ass this whole time… Maybe being in love with Beatrix, and thinking he almost lost her had done something to the guy. His answer wasn't expected by the older man.

"You're getting all soft there, Rusty…" Zidane laughed, freely letting the sound echo off of the trees. "'Where thou love is sometimes fragile during times of war, it often possesses an unbreakable strength…' "

It was Steiner's turn to glance at the Tantalus member in shock. Had he just quoted Lord Avon? Finally, for what seemed like the first time in a very long time, the man cracked a smile and shook his head, a low chuckle emanating from his throat. "Just as unpredictable and unexpected as ever…"

Zidane only winked, feeling as though that summed up the answer enough.

"Zidane!" Both turned at Vivi's small voice, as he wobbled down the path in a hurry, "It's time!" He beamed, and the blonde rose an eyebrow at Steiner, slowly getting up from his position. What was it that could possibly have the black mage so excited?

"You have to come!" He called out, eyes a dazzling gold. "It's time to see the black mage village!"

Zidane jumped up, eyes wide, "What? Already?! No way!" A grin broke onto his face, and he raced up to Vivi, dodging out of his way. "What are you waiting for slow poke?! Let's go!" He teased at the black mage, who was flustered at the confusion.

He stumbled to a stop, scanning the area around a grinning Steiner for the thief, before turning around and seeing him gesturing to hurry. He laughed and started to run again, teetering this way and that as he followed his very best friend through the forest, even though it was _he_ who knew where they needed to go, and not Zidane.

Steiner rose then, feeling as though his deed was done. He would wait to see what would happen with Zidane later, before deciding if he should tell him anything else.

?

"Are we there _yet_?!"

"You sure didn't lose your spunk," Cid laughed, walking with the two of them. He decided that today he would have a private walk into the village with his own two dreamers, and sideways glanced at the one constantly complaining.

Zidane hobbled along a little uncomfortably. Daily healing sessions with Dagger had more than one benefit, but he definitely wasn't ready to do a five mile hike the wilderness.

The blonde decided to ignore the Regent's comment, and continue to walk, perhaps rethinking his need to complain. Instead, he focused on Vivi who practically _pranced_ in front of them, excitable and hypnotically.

"So tell me about the village," Zidane offered up, in hopes to start a conversation.

Cid was about to answer, but was surprised when Vivi beat him to the punch. "Zidane it's really great!" He insisted, "These mages know a lot about black magic, and can teach me a lot, while we can teach them a lot… and they know a lot about Kuja…"

Suddenly, Zidane's goofy grin vanished, and he became instantaneously serious. Cid noticed this… His encounter must have been much more powerful than the old man originally thought. Gnawing his lip, he listened carefully.

"What do they know about Kuja?" He asked – but maybe was a little to demanding. Vivi peeped, and started to stutter.

"Perhaps we should find out for ourselves…" Cid spoke wisely, cutting the attention of both of them off of each other, over to where the seemingly endless mirage of road rippled and disappeared in front of them.

Zidane's jaw dropped, and he gaped like a fish as all three wondered inside.

One mage was already there waiting for them. "Welcome…" This mage seemed all knowing and much older, spreading his arms out wide.

Vivi ran up to him, bowing in his presence, causing an echo of laughter to emerge from the mage. "Now little one, surely you know enough that that's not necessary, isn't that right?" His glowing eyes glimmered as he patted Vivi's hat.

"You're… you're…"

"We told you, didn't we?" Cid asked him, slapping him painfully on the back as he strode forward, his cape bellowing behind him.

"Well… yeah… but…"

The elder mage laughed again, "You are standing now in the Black Mage Village…" He nodded slowly, "We have many things to discuss, young one…"

They walked further into the village now, and all the while, the blonde's crystal blue eyes just kept getting wider and wider. Small mages – smaller than _Vivi_ even, ran around each other, while others cast spells purely for entertainment. Some acted out merry plays, others did housework, and some even created new companions – pets if you would – to stay with them.

"How could you guys have been here all this time, and never been found out? Who _are_ all of you? I've never seen a mage before Vivi who was actually zoned into the world."

The elder mage's mood become somber, and he turned to glance at the Genome. "My young friend… Let me explain to you…"

He motioned to the land in front of them. "As the Genomes, humans, white mages, Bermecians, and every other race among these lands, black mages are as you…" A slow nod of his head confirmed his words. "Of course… we started as a small race, just like any other. But from the beginning, our race of black mages has been powerful, but gentle. Kuja realized this long ago, and realized he wouldn't be able to convince us to join him, so he created more of us…"

"Created?" Zidane asked, tilting his head.

They were still walking, but leaving behind the bustle of the middle of the village.

The elder mage nodded, "Manufactured if you will… He couldn't get it just right though… Many began mindless and unaware of their surroundings, simply sticking to their tasks at hand."

"That explains all of the black mages we've run into…" Vivi nodded, glancing up at Zidane.

"And even the ones in the fake Alexandria…" The blonde commented, putting his hands on his hips.

"But alas, there is a way to change that."

"Change them? But how can we save them all?" Zidane asked, averting all of his attention back to the elder mage.

He nodded slowly, contemplating the way he would explain it, "Rather _we_ cannot do a thing, besides show them a life that isn't mindless killing. More notably, we've learned over time, that when they see something emotionally drastic – like the death of a parent in front of a child, or a husband who dies, his wife's picture slipping from his hand as he falls to the ground – they suddenly became "aware", like they're coming out of a daze…"

"So, you're saying they have to experience something emotionally traumatizing for someone who _has_ emotions?"

"In a way, yes… Of course, considering Kuja's unaware mages are never around happy circumstances – true love's blossom, a child being born – or something of the such, we don't know if that would cause their awareness…"

"So when they come aware, they just live out the rest of their lives?" Zidane glanced at Vivi, wondering if once upon a time, he wasn't aware, or if he'd been one of the very few of the race.

"The manufactured mages have a very short lifespan… Ten years is a _very_ long time, and most don't become aware – because they don't get put into those types of situation – until they're at least five years of age…"

"So they just…" Zidane looked at him with sad eyes, "die?"

"To those who were never born, but manufactured, the concept is much harder to grasp." He nodded solemnly, "They refer to it as "stopping". And it's a very large shame…"

"So mages just… stop?"

"They suddenly become like dolls… Unmoving, but nothing inside of them has stopped working… It's almost as though their battery just runs… well… dead…"

"So they're dying, but not really because they were never really born?" Cid asks, trying to see if putting it in such a way was correct, for Zidane to understand. He recalls Vivi getting this same story the last time they ventured to the village.

The elder mage nodded. "While those from the race live for thirty or perhaps even a few more years see many friends come and go… Other than that, and the ignorance of common sense, there isn't a difference between us… Except perhaps in power. I believe that's why Vivi is seen so highly in Kuja's eyes…"

"What do you mean?" The blonde cocked his head to the side.

"Race mages are _very_ powerful… It simply takes _too_ much to manufacture mass productions of very powerful mages – and even the few that are created, do not meet the power of race mages…" He nodded slowly, "That's why we can assume that Vivi is a race mage… But perhaps the other parts of his family were not…"

"So created mages and race mages can mate and have children?"

The elder mage nodded, "I know it seems hard to grasp but they were created to be exactly like the others – so Kuja probably felt leaving out a reproductive system wouldn't be fitting… He wanted them to blend in, after all…"

"But it's not something they can use unless they're aware, right?"

"Correct… Ah!" He pointed straight ahead, "This is the place I was looking for… Come, come inside!" He ushered, waving everyone in.

Zidane stepped in carefully, noticing how everything seemed a little downsized to fit the Black Mages' stature.

"Now… Kuja…" He sucked in a breath, "Let's talk about Kuja, and the conflict going on with him…"

Zidane's face grew hard, knowing now was the time to get serious. "Right… Kuja…"

?

Zidane's jaw dropped, eyes sparkling. He was honestly touched, "So you're saying you'll help?"

The elder mage nodded wisely and calmly, "We won't be as powerful as Vivi of course… But we'll be able to help, and I think more spell casters on your side will give you a great advantage. We're also teaching a special squad how to shoot arrows, though they're not very good yet…"

"This is…" He couldn't find the way to form words, "Thank you, so, so much…"

"How can we possibly repay you? We have no money, nor any land, or –" Cid began, but was cut off when the elder held up his hand.

"Only free roam of the world…" He smiled, "Quarters to fit in properly after Kuja's bastard reproduction has given us a sour name…" Shaking his head, he glanced at Vivi, "Of course, most of us will probably return here… But we would like that as an option… Vivi is quite an inspiration to all of us…"

"M-me? Why me?"

"Why – you are a race mage with no help from others! You've made close friends with all sorts of different people, and you're a dreamer!" He laughed, "Plus, you're in a resistance – we all strive to do something great in the world…"

Zidane's eyes seemed to shine. Vivi was finally getting the credit he deserved for the things he's done – no matter how small.

"Way to go, Vivi!" He cheered.

"I guess I don't know what to say…" He pulled his hat tighter onto his head.

"We must reveal the existence of your village to the rest of our resistance…" Cid nodded.

The elder mage looked down, obviously debating two different answers. "I will ask you not to do that…"

"How will they trust you?"

"We will roam amongst your ranks, but I fear the safety of those who do not wish to fight, if our façade is dropped, and our village revealed…"

"I understand…" Cid stood then, holding out his hand for a firm shake, "We will make arrangements for those who wish to stay amongst us, and learn from us, to eventually fight with us…"

"Good… Thank you…" He stood and bowed to Zidane and Vivi, "Thank you dreamers, for giving us a fighting chance…"

"We wouldn't…" Vivi began, but glanced at the blonde to see if it was okay for him to talk. "We wouldn't be able to be an inspiration to anyone, if we didn't have the resistance standing behind us… We need you guys just as much as you need us…"

The blonde smiled, realizing just how right Vivi was.

"We'll visit again soon, this place is so cool!" Zidane waved goodbye, and started back down the path. Vivi waddled behind him, full of thought. Cid was the one who quickly caught up to his side.

"Much to think about, isn't there?"

Zidane nodded, "Yeah… I hope everywhere else is as ready to help…"

"I don't think you understand how much the rumors of two dreamers escaping Kuja's tight fist would stir the hearts and hopes of people…" He smiled, his ridiculous mustache wavering as his lips moved, "We thank you for everything you've done… especially sticking with us…"

"I don't think Vivi and I would have made it out in the beginning if it weren't for your main squad…" He bowed, uncharacteristically, but respectfully nevertheless, "I thank you, Regent Cid… Someday, I believe that Tantalus will be greatly in your debt…" He gave a wry smile, "Someday I believe we'll be doing your dirty work again after this is all over…"

Cid gave a great laugh and put a hand on Zidane's back, steering him away, "Come now, don't be ridiculous…"

?

A few weeks passed, and slowly, ever so slowly, Zidane got back into training. He and Blank began goofing around again, and his healing sessions became fewer and fewer with Dagger.

The blonde had yet to really meet this Bronson character everyone talked about – the man mysteriously slinking away every time he knew the Genome would be coming into the picture. Obviously, he found Zidane as a threat, but didn't want to cause any more trouble.

"What the matter, Dagger? Can't keep up with my sweet moves?" Blank taunted, twirling his dagger around and jumping at her.

She ducked and he flew over her, but she spun around when she knew he was advancing, swiping her feet underneath his, knocking him on his back. The rest of their audience burst into laughter.

"You should have seen through that one!" Cinna snorted between laughs, clutching his large belly and pointing at the redhead.

"You come take her on then, you jack ass!" He barked, shaking his fist. While he was screaming at his teammate, she almost pranced up to him, beating him on the back with her staff. He let out a loud groan and fell to the ground.

"And the viiiictor iiiiis _Daaaaaggerrrr!_" Cinna yelled, jumping around.

Everyone began to clap and cheer. With a bright smile, she bowed a few times, "Thank you, thank you!" She laughed. "Who's my next unworthy opponent?!" She challenged.

"I think Zidane's next on the list," Marcus snickered.

Everyone quieted for a moment, before turning to stare at the blonde, who was absentmindedly staring off into space. A little _too_ innocently, because Marcus pointed him out almost immediately.

Dagger lowered her staff, the fun suddenly sucked out of the challenge. She watched as Zidane shrugged sheepishly at her, but after being prodded by a few, stood up, and walked in her direction.

"You can't be serious," she groaned, smacking her face with her palm.

"Hey now, you're not supposed to hit yourself, that's cheating," He stated, tilting his head.

"I can't fight you."

He gave a lopsided smile, "I can't fight you either."

"Aww come on!" Cinna whined, "The two star crossed lovers, fighting to the death –"

"Cinna!" She cried, blushing furiously. Everyone else let out hoots of laughter. "Him dying isn't funny!"

"Oh so you think you could kill me, huh?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Well no, I just –" His eyes sparkled at her.

"Give it your best shot…" He pulled out his dagger, waving her forward with it.

"Zidane this is silly – you're just back on your feet after an injury…"

"Dagger –"

"An injury _I _saved you from! I'm not about to have you –"

"Dagger!" He called out sharply to her. She clamped her mouth shut and stared at him. "It's just a bit of fun… You didn't kill Blank, did you?"

"Just his ego," Cinna nodded, "This will be fun! Come on!"

He smiled at her when she sucked in a breath and slid into a defensive stance, "Alright…"

"Leeet's get ready to ruuuuuumble!" Cinna shouted, but the hesitation was obvious in both parties.

Zidane half heartedly moved forward and swung. She lamely dodged it. "If you're going to be sloppy, you're going to make it hard for me to miss you," He teased.

"If I have to try, so do you!" She huffed at him, crossing her arms.

He jumped behind her and swept her off her feet. She landed on her butt with an 'oof'. "I am trying!" He yelled with a laugh.

She stood off the ground, blushing madly again, before charging at him. He was ready for her blunt attack, but didn't see it coming when she suddenly flipped over him. Whipping around, he saw the staff just before it clunked him in the head, causing him to dizzily move about.

Cheers erupted from the sidelines as Zidane chuckled, and sliced dramatically at the air, "You'll never get away from me!" A few bobs on the head from Dagger wasn't going to hurt him.

He joking poked at her a few more times, before getting hit again, her energy catching up with her spirit. His vision wavered a little, and he guessed it was probably because of the hard hits he'd taken in his fight with Kuja.

But as the fight continued, things around him slowly started to change. Slowly, Dagger's raven hair rinsed into blonde, and her calm, chocolate eyes became flared emerald ones. The cheers quickly became screams, and no longer was he in the relaxed grass, but on cobblestone, surrounded not by blowing leaves, but burning buildings.

"How could you?!" She shrieked at him, her own dagger out in front of her. "I'm going to kill you Zidane!" This fight became all too familiar. His head started to swim more as his reality jumped from one vision to another.

Would he eventually have to fight Elouise?

"Stop," he murmured, as another blow narrowly missed him, "Elouise…" He groaned, tears pricking his eyes.

A sudden pain ripped through his body, as though his leg was shattered again, fire burning dangerously close to him. He screamed, and fell to the ground, not noticing that it was velvet grass that reached his palms.

Tantalus was on their feet in seconds, along with a few others, rushing over to the blonde. "Zidane!" They all yelled, and Blank scrambled to his side, shaking his arm, "Wake up, man!"

Dagger backed up, her staff forgotten in the grass. The wild look he gave them, the tears the pricked his eyes, and the agonizing scream that he'd let out moments ago. It scared her… Had she really hurt him?

Turning to flee as everyone else tried to calm him down, she found herself running right into none other than Bronson.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asked her, pulling back to see tears streaming down her face.

"I'm f-fine… Just frightened and –" She glanced back at Zidane, who was wearily clutching his head, and burst into tears. "This is my fault!"

"What's your fault?" He put his hands on her shoulders and shook her mildly, "Garnet what –"

At the sound of her real name, people began to turn their heads, and finally knocked from his trance, Zidane lifted his head from his hands.

"Who the fuck is he…?" The blonde muttered, his blurred vision seeing someone else engulfing Dagger in a hug. He leapt from his position in the grass, knocking several people back.

"Zidane!" Blank called out in frustration, not really in favor of seeing his kind and gentle friend go berserk on this guy.

With a drunken step, Zidane stumbled towards where he thought the pair was. It wasn't a wonderful first impression to his obvious rival, but it didn't seem to bother the thief much. He mustered a stance and stared up at the guy.

He was buff, and looked fresh cut out of the army: something that was immensely fishy. "Who are you?!" He called out, even though the blonde knew exactly who he was.

The man glanced down at the crying princess in his arms, and back up at this boy. To Bronson, Zidane looked weak, but quick and sneaky, and a generally nice person… Except right now a fire danced in his sapphire eyes, and his eyebrows knit together in frustration. He was gripping the hilt of his dagger a little too tightly.

"Obviously someone who doesn't make Garnet cry…"

It was lucky Blank was on him in a second, tearing him back from his sudden jolt towards the two. Dagger shoved Bronson back, "He didn't make me cry!" She insisted.

Bronson took her face in his hands, and rubbed away the tears streaking down her face, "What do you call that then?" He asked gently. This made her cry harder. She hated this confrontation – she hated that Bronson had showed up, and she hated that she was too weak and confused to what she did to Zidane to pull away.

"Get away from her!" Zidane snarled, jerking against Blank's, and now Marcus' too, hold.

"Or what?" He narrowed his eyes, "You gonna fight me?"

That was all it took for Zidane to let out a fierce cry, tearing away from the two other Tantalus members and streaking forward. Bronson threw Dagger out of the way, and prepared to block Zidane. But he was too fast – way faster than the newcomer had expected, and the Genome easily landed the first right hook into jaw.

As soon as she hit the ground, Dagger was up again, trying to get in the middle of the two.

Bronson, quickly overcoming the first brutal hit, slammed into a weakened Zidane with full force, knocking him to the ground. But as soon as he tried to pounce, Zidane's legs were up and throwing him backwards.

Bronson slid in the dirt, throwing up a cloud. He glanced around, listening hard for some sort of sign that the blonde was coming after him. When he heard none, he jumped up, charging forward to get out of the dust cloud.

Unfortunately for Bronson, Zidane was right there waiting, kicking off of his chest, throwing all the air from Bronson's lungs. He heaved for a moment, wiping at the corners of his mouth.

"You're not bad… for a _thief_."

Zidane threw his head back, "I've heard better insults from the Qu's!" The taller blonde growled and lunged for him once more.

As they continued to fight, Blank tried to wrestle Dagger back from getting involved. Most others stood in amazement, watching this newcomer try and fight one of the dreamers. And another group were still wondering what was going on with Zidane. It was a split between stopping them and not, igniting arguments of their own.

"You can't get in the middle!" Blank yelled at the raven haired girl, tears spilling out of her eyes.

She tried to shake him off, but to no avail, "Blank you don't get it!" She tried to plead, screaming.

"You're going to get hurt –"

"_Zidane_ is going to get hurt?! What did I do to him, Blank?!" She demanded, hair spewing around her face wildly, "He's not okay! Bronson's going to hurt him!"

"Zidane can take care of himself!" The redhead insisted.

"I can't let him get hurt over me!"

Blank rolled his eyes. Women were so melodramatic sometimes, and he cringed when he thought about it. But this distraction gave Dagger the upper hand. She smashed her foot down over his, causing him to trip and yelp in pain.

With full force, she sprinted forward, hopefully stopping the fight.

"Both of you!" She sobbed, not knowing what else to do. "Stop!"

Before the two made contact again, she wheeled in front of them, hopefully stopping their attacks. She didn't want to see them fight like this… Fight like this over _her_.

There was a lot of yelling and screaming, people realizing what was about to happen.

_Smack!_

Dizzily, she stumbled forward, holding her head, before collapsing on the ground.

"Dagger!" Zidane cried, horrified as to what they'd just done.

?

**A/N: So kind of a lame ending, but I figured I needed to end it somewhere. I promise the next chapter will pick back up some more, but I figured I'd give you a LITTLE love competition, since there hasn't been any in awhile. Anyways :)**

**Sorry for such the long time between updates. I have been so so busy for the last few months, I haven't been able to much of anything! Thanks for whoever has stuck with me thus far!**

**-zesty-**


	48. Chapter 47: Such a Fool

**Filling in the Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**A/N: One hell of a big shout out to Bobby Corwen for showering me in THE BEST reviews I've ever gotten for a story Your inspiration is helping my update rate, and getting ahead and writing at least a chapter per day :) Thank you!**

**Chapter 47: Such a Fool**

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Bronson boomed. But Zidane wasn't listening – he was already by Dagger's side, where she groaned, trying to push herself up from the ground.

Her hair created a veil around her face, the two males not able to probe her expression for any emotional reaction.

"Dagger!" Marcus tromped over, throwing everything out of his way. He kicked back Bronson and shoved Zidane away from her space bubble, then stepped back to give her some room.

Slowly, she pushed herself into a sitting position, groaning. Zidane continually bit his lip, reflexes jerking him forward, but one severe look from Marcus would stop him. Bronson on the other hand, wasn't exactly as quick.

He was down by her side in another moment, hands on her shoulders.

Marcus went to throw him back, but the ex-knight grabbed his arm and flipped in over his body. "This isn't about us!" He howled, anger evident in his face, "This is about the Princess!" Everyone fell silent – her actual title falling on foreign ears.

Nobody thought of Dagger as the Princess because they would treat her no differently. Without a kingdom, she was just another individual trying to survive. Bronson challenged that view, and very few liked it.

"Get away from her!" Marcus' head snapped up to Zidane, lifting carefully from the ground. It's like a power hooking him with strings dragged him to his feet, his head still bowed.

His skin began to emanate a magenta hue, and the Tantalus member smartly took a step back.

"You stay away from her!" He suddenly bellowed, leaping on Bronson.

The knight yelled and fell back – the Genome making _sure_ he didn't hit Dagger this time. Blank hurried to her side, trying to make sure that the mistake with the boys didn't repeat itself.

Bronson kicked at the smaller of the two – Zidane was younger and weaker… The knight should be able to take on a thief like him. But he was different now… His body was positively glowing, and his eyes shined a strange color. He was powerful and fast – so fast Bronson could barely see where he was.

Onlookers watched with astonished expressions. Could this be the Trance that Steiner had explained that day when the Genome had told them his accounts with Kuja. Nobody wanted to interrupt it. Zidane was already their strongest fighter – think about how much more useful he would be, if he retained this great power.

As Zidane clawed at Bronson, trying to get a hit in on him, the man's armor well-defended him… But that didn't mean the blonde wasn't leaving dents and bruises. Finally, Bronson got a firm hold on Zidane's tail, and whipped him backwards.

He skid across the dirt, small stones embedding themselves into his skin. He rolled a few more feet, before leaping back up, the energy still in him.

"Look at you!" Bronson yelled, nostrils flaring with bull-like rage. "You're pathetic!"

"I'm pathetic?!" Zidane growled, taking an ominous step forward.

Bronson had a threatening hand on his sword hilt – right next to his hip. The blonde hadn't missed it. "You treat her terribly!"

"What are you even talking about –"

"_Don't_ play dumb with me, thief!" Bronson snarled, clenching his teeth in hatred. "You let her run away when she's in tears – you _leave_ her! You write her only a letter to replace you in death, you aren't honest with her about what happened in Terra!" The insults all came out in a jumble.

"You're a dishonest thief! You're an arrogant and naïve dreamer, who didn't deserve his title! You're a fluke! Your power is your weakness, and you're too weak hearted to apply justice to any situation! You have no casualties of this war! I've heard of you, Zidane! People talk here – many people talk about you, oh yes!"

The blonde's power was leaving him, confusing left in its descent. "You're going to be their savior! That's what they say!" Bronson spat on the ground, eyes flaring with rage fueled fires, "You are nothing! You have not lost all of those dear to you! You haven't lost a kingdom, or a hometown – a family! Oh but you've lost to war a traitor – a bitch who fights in the name of Kuja – someone you don't even know is real!"

_Elouise… He's talking about Elouise…_ Azure eyes widened, strength leaving him. Dizzy with the events, he fell to one knee.

"You put the lives of _everyone_ fighting in danger to sneak back _into_ the place you escaped! The place that you would have surely _died_ if the main team hadn't found you! You put so many in danger! You exposed not only the rebellion but the innocent who lived in Dali!" Tears stung at his eyes now, and Zidane's eyes furrowed, "I came here to find the man who doomed Dali! Who doomed my mother and brother to _death!_ And I find something not even _worth_ having the title of murder! You're dirt!" Bronson pulled out his sword, hurling it towards Zidane, but it sloppily landed in front of him. "_You don't deserve the love you get from Garnet!"_

That asshole might as well have just stabbed him. "You don't deserve these people protecting you! And you sure as hell _don't deserve her!_"

Though his strength was little, he glanced towards Dagger. Seeing for the first time since this event had started – the shining chocolate eyes he had grown to know and love over time were staring at him.

_We could leave the troubles behind, and thou shall be free of kindling fire of hate and rage, and thy shall protect you from all as you spread your wings and fly!_

His mind suddenly jumped to his first night on patrol. He had torn Dagger from her responsibilities being on guard, reciting stupidly, something he thought he came up with. No one had gotten hurt that time… Just that time.

As much of an asshole as Zidane believed Bronson was, his chest raising and falling at the speed of pure adrenaline, he understood everything that he had said. Zidane was selfish – he put the whole rebellion and the whole town of Dali to their death (even though many escaped) just to see if Elouise was real – just to see if he could break through Kuja's strong hold and find her.

He, unbeknownst to most, almost sacrificed Vivi, just for a glimpse into the castle. Though Zidane felt great loss from the war, he had been out of it for the worst part… He had been out of it when the spark from those who wanted to withstand was snuffed out, and he didn't _really_ lose anyone dear to war. His parents, yes, but it was so long ago, and up until recently he hadn't remembered anyways.

And here Bronson was, finally revealing that he hadn't just stumbled upon them. Perhaps towards the end, but he followed the line of sight from the airship when they took off – he knew the direction they had to go… And all he had to do was run into someone in Conde Petie who didn't talk in rhyme for one moment, and he would have all the information he would need.

He came to find answers as to why his brother and mother were killed.

Zidane stood – dangerously calm. Bronson knew for a fact he would strike out, but he was ready to fight this thief if it meant his life. But Zidane surprised everyone, and _silently_ turned around.

"Zidane…" Dagger choked out, clumsily trying to stand and go after him.

He turned his head, eyes looking more defeated and so much softer than she remembered the last time they had talked. She could only see one side of his face, but a small, tender smile appeared on his lips as he barely shook his head. "No Dagger, stay…"

Then he ran off, just like that. He had gone into the shadows, and even after Blank and Cinna had taken off in his direction, both knew they weren't going to find him when he didn't have any desire to be found.

Dagger's head whipped towards Bronson, anger suddenly bubbling in her own throat. "How dare you!" She shrieked, catching everyone off guard.

Beatrix and Steiner came rushing down the path, having heard the screaming from earlier.

"You lied!" She yelled.

"Not really –"

"You never said anything about seeking the one who supposedly caused Dali's destruction! How dare you come here, and accuse one of our dreamers – no, our _friends _ - to be a spy, and then to accuse him of selfishly disregarding the rebellion!"

"He did!" Bronson yelled back at her.

She found her own strength and stomped up to him. Nobody had seen her act quite like she was acting now. "How dare you freely speak my title around those who have no idea of these ways, the country, and the rumors that can spread! How _dare_ you seek us out when Kuja could have easily been on your trail!"

Her breathing was rapid, and he reached forward in the means to call her down. She swiped his arm clean out of the air, and it clapped when it fell back against his armor. "_And how dare you try and tell Zidane he doesn't deserve what we've done for him!_ Have you ever thought about what he's done back! It might not have been food, or a great guard – it's not even about him being a powerful weapon! It's about _hope_, Bronson! Hope that maybe we'll get out of this alive! That there's still a chance for us!"

Her voice suddenly became low, and many didn't hear what she uttered to the man standing in front of her. "How dare you try to convince Zidane he doesn't deserve my love. But not just mine – everyone else's love here as well…"

She wound up, and slapped him as hard as she could across the cheek, his bewildered eyes never leaving the mark on her face from the hit. _His_ hit… Zidane's leather gloves couldn't have left a mark like that… Only metal armor…

Beatrix was on them in a second, steering Dagger away, glancing back at Bronson, wondering how it had escalated this far. The newcomers continued to be useless, staring, wondering if they should agree with what the man had spewed, or look at his views in disgust. There weren't many people who didn't find Vivi and Zidane pleasant company – save for the more bitter… But they would never say anything like this – or cause a big commotion.

But truly, out of everything that just happened, even over the fear that Kuja could have their location, and biding his time until he attacks, the biggest question stood in each member's mind… Would Zidane – their hope and confidence, not to mention most skilled fighter - leave?

* * *

Cid hardly jumped when the door to his meeting room was thrown open. He wasn't even surprised when he glanced up, and saw the golden monkey tail trailing behind who had come to see him.

He nodded solemnly, "Zidane… I knew you would be here eventually."

The blonde dropped his hands on the old, wooden table, creating a clamor of noise. This still, did not shock Cid. He knew it was only a matter of time before _something_ blew up between him and Bronson.

"I want to go to Treno."

_This_ surprised Cid. He uncharacteristically choked on his water, and it took a couple of minutes of wheezing, strange looks from the Genome, and coughing to get his attitude back under control.

"Zidane, you aren't well enough to –"

"If we don't start moving, we will _never_ make it in time. For all we know, Kuja could be on our doorstep _tomorrow_. The more people who are here – the better!"

Cid swallowed, not liking the direction this conversation was going. He folded his hands calmly in his lap, and planted his feet on the earthy ground. His forearms just barely brushed the table, and he could feel the rough wood against his woolen clothes.

Zidane's fingers brushed over the grime settled on the ancient piece of furniture. He felt it underneath him, and it automatically made him move his feet in his boots, feeling the dirt underneath his body as well.

"What do you want to do, Zidane?"

"I want to be on the list…" He nodded triumphantly, but very seriously. "I want one mission, numerous stops. Treno, Dali, the Western half of the Mist Continent, and –"

"Zidane, that's not a good –"

"- _and_," the teenager continued with emphasis, causing Cid's mouth to snap shut, "Ipsen's castle."

Cid's chair flew back in synchronization with the rest of the sentence. "You're mad!"

"I don't mean to go alone… I will go with an elite team – or whatever team you were going to assign to these places…" He shook his head, "I have to do this… We need to do this…"

Cid searched his face – his tanned skin, still, after all this time in the dark, from long, sun-kissed days of the past, and piercing blue eyes that shone through the grime and dirt etched into his features. His hair looked more brown than it did blonde, and his clothes were rugged.

The Regent still watched Zidane on a daily basis – even storming into his office now – walk with a limp, run with one, train with one, fight with one – he might never get over that hiccup in his abilities for the rest of his life… unless he were to rest now, and get to full strength before moving out.

And yet, as he went over this turmoil in his mind, he realized there would be no keeping Zidane there. Grant him his wishes and keep him safe with the resistance, or deny him his right to help save the world, and have him vanish from their sights – the hope, his confidence and abilities, and his very being away from the people who had grown to love him so. Let Zidane step out on his own, or keep him fighting with them – where he stands more of a chance.

A final breath of defeat left Cid all too suddenly, and he slouched in his chair. "There's no way I can change your mind?"

"When do we leave?" Zidane asked back, just as fiery as he had been when he first advanced into the meeting room.

"I'll arrange for a meeting, and you can leave tomorrow or the next day…"

Zidane nodded then, and suddenly his resolve left him. His eyes dulled, and his energy vanished. He shuffled out of the office, that now familiar limp in his style.

* * *

"Why are we all here, Cid?" Steiner asked, glancing around the room. It was a small mismatch of people. There was all of Tantalus, and the whole main field group, and a few others that he recognized had numerous advanced skills.

The Regent prepared for the harsh feedback he was about to receive, because everyone was very aware that Zidane was in the meeting as well. Vivi sat motionless in the chair, curious, but startled at why this was called so quickly. He was still in scared shock from the commotion with Bronson – sharing the same fears as Cid that Zidane would abandon the large group, and move solo.

Beatrix sat leisurely, estimating it wasn't going to be a very dire meeting _because_ of the mismatched group sitting before her. Her legs were crossed, one foot tapping the air to keep in beat with soundless music. Both arms rested on the table, her right hand leisurely bent, fingers caressing a stolen book from Conde Petie, while her left hand came to her face, fingers resting close to her lips.

Zidane was seated, still exhausted looking, in a seat, his face unreadable, but leaned back against the chair, all of his limbs spread comfortably around him, totally limp. Dagger sat primitively at the end of the table, high to attention, but her eyes flickered in wonderment, curious if she was acting right for the occasion.

Even Quina was there, in a chair, signature tongue hanging out of his mouth. Nobody could read the rest of his body movements, let alone tell what was on his mind… ever.

Cinna and Zenero were also there, sitting in chairs, their statures mostly neutral. Marcus and Blank stood against the wall, their arms crossed, one foot planted firmly against the wall, the other on the floor – their regular positions, so one couldn't tell if they were troubled or just grumpy as usual. Baku stroked his chin from the doorway, narrow eyes suspicious.

Steiner was also against a wall with the same expression as the Tantalus leader. There was a reason they were all gathered here, and he had a pit in his stomach telling him it wasn't a good thing. Freya was one in the same, though she sat leisurely, putting on a nice façade like Beatrix.

Ruby was probably the most painful person to look at in the whole match up of people. Everyone else held a pretty good poker face, masking either their confusion, suspicion, or what they fear. Then again, Ruby was never good at wearing that mask, and, as Blank usually stated, she was too emotional for her own good.

Her eyebrows were knit together in confusion, her lips pursed, eyes wide like a wounded puppy's, and her hands and feet were constantly moving in anxiety. Among the leftovers, Eiko and Amarant were there, concern and curiosity pushing them to attend.

"We are here…" Cid let out, wincing at the sound of his old, tired voice. "Because, tomorrow I am sending out my first airship to recruit."

For most people in the room, it was shocking. Beatrix lost her cool, and choked on her own breath, slamming her delicate hands onto the book on the table. Dagger glanced down uneasily to crack that just formed underneath the hardcover novel.

"All of you that I have called for are here because I'm giving you the details of your mission, and all of the stops you'll be heading to –"

"_Stops_?!" Marcus groaned, "You mean we'd be stopping in more than one place?"

"The Western region of the mist continent, Treno, Dali, and Ipsen's castle –"

"We're making _another_ trip across the ocean?" Cinna bellowed, in obvious distress from the catastrophe that happened with his team last time.

"_He's_ making another trip!" Eiko, though a new comer, didn't have any problem expressing her opinions. She threw her short arm out, her finger extending in the direction of Zidane. "He almost died!"

A great rumble of yelling overcame the room, and Cid pinched the bridge of his nose. The only two staying silent were Dagger and Zidane themselves. He glanced at the girl for help, but she purposely didn't catch his eye. She didn't agree with his decision to let Zidane out of a five mile radius, let alone across seas once more.

"There will be no arguing!" Cid suddenly boomed, and everyone's jaws snapped shut. He shook his head, "You are the ones I trust most to move out and efficiently get who we need to get _here_, and quickly. The rest of us will train whatever recruits you rake in."

"Are we taking separate airships?"

"You will be taking one airship… All of you will move to Ipsen's castle. If Kuja would like to follow our airship, at least going over seas will buy us some time. You'll circle back around to the Western region and split up at Qu's Marsh. Tantalus will go to Treno, and the main squad will go to Bermecia and or Cleyra. You'll meet up again at Dali! Send any recruits you find at this time to Qu's Marsh…

"What about Blank and Zidane? They're on both…" Ruby pointed out, a glimmer of hope that maybe they could be spared the trips.

"At this point in time, Blank and Zidane will be moving with Tantalus at the split… If something changes though, feel free to switch…"

He didn't fail to notice a silent tear slip down the cheek of his niece's face. He knew very well that he was sending Zidane on yet another suicide mission, and she was figuring it out fast that he wasn't looking to come home – not anymore…

Cid realized it the very first moment Steiner reported the details of Bronson and Zidane's fight. Or maybe it was earlier – maybe it was when the blonde had stormed into his office, demanding this suicide. He wouldn't hold back – he would do anything he could to win this war, even if it meant he would die. Not even die at the most vital point – destroying Kuja – but merely gathering more people…

"You cannot do this, Cid…" Beatrix said lowly. Though no matter how quietly she had said it, everyone looked at her. "You cannot sentence Zidane to death a second time."

"Why? Why should everyone else die protecting me?" The blonde questioned, his eyes wide and tired, his voice low and strained.

"Why?" Beatrix asked, standing, and for the first time in a _long_ time, showing her superiority. People tended to forget, with her fading into the drama-free background of their hideout, how she and Steiner were the third and fourth command of this rebellion – after Cid and Dagger. "Because if I die in your place, you can move forward. If someone takes your spot again after that, you'll still continue, you'll continue fighting for us, no matter how many die. And at the end of the chain, even if there is nobody left, you will finally be our last hope against Kuja… I will lay my life down for you and Vivi so you can get to the bastard and stop him!"

She flicked her hair over her shoulder, and shot them a hard look. "Despite what is said to make you feel pain – to make you feel like you should have done something different – people make decisions to _protect _each other. You wanted to protect your friends from the dream world, we wanted to protect you and Blank from the Alexandrian guards, and the people of Dali chose to protect us… We have a common goal, and we are _all_ laying our lives down!

"Do not pretend to be so gallant, Zidane Tribal…" Her almond eyes shone, expecting respect from each and every person in the room. "For none of us are forced to do what we do."

Zidane actually let on a smile. At first, it was a small, delicate thing, perhaps for politeness, or maybe the respect she had just demanded in her speech. But soon it grew until it was a full on grin.

He stood slowly, squaring his shoulders, and staring her straight in the eyes. "Then let me help protect you guys as you go on your mission. Let me make the decision to protect those I love…"

Before Beatrix had the chance to reply, it was Freya's dark laugh that attracted all the attention in the room. "In other words, Miss Vaylor, he's not backing down. We might as well spend this time preparing the group as much as we can."

She stood abruptly, and jerked her head backwards, her icy eyes locked on Zidane. He leapt up, and moved out of the room behind her. He raised a hand, "We'll have Rusty fill us in on the details during the airship ride!"

As though inspired by this movement, Blank chuckled and pulled Ruby out of the room, intent on following his best friend. As much as he didn't like it, he wasn't about to abandon any chance he had to help Zidane. Ruby argued with him until they were out of earshot.

Slowly, Cinna moved behind them, and then Eiko and Amarant. Quina followed when Eiko promised him food and quality time with Zidane, and without knowing what else to do, the others who didn't have any input on the matter really, followed them out.

Vivi had been the only one to speak as he left the room, turning and apologizing to the higher ups he'd grown close to before skittering out.

Eventually, Dagger, Beatrix, Marcus, Baku, Steiner, and Cid were the only ones left.

Marcus was the first to speak out of the group of shocked rebels. He shook his head and shoved his hands into his pockets, turning and showing them only his profile, "I hope to hell at least some of us are still smart enough to get it…"

With that he walked out, and the more formally trained glanced to Baku for some sort of translation.

He chuckled, shaking his head, "Some of us have to keep a look out for Zidane… Because this trip is _not_ going to be easy…"

* * *

**A/N: I really REALLY hate Bronson! You'll be relieved to know that I actually read over this chapter, and tried to fix any mistakes that I saw at first glance. I apologize for the others.  
**

**Also, I decided I don't remember a lot about what happens in the middle of this story, so I decided to go back and start rereading from the beginning... Let me just say:**

**I'm so sorry for all the grammatical mistakes, overuse of certain words, descriptions that don't make sense, and any tidbits of information that I threw in there, that didn't quite add up... I see now that hopefully when I finish this story, I can loop back around and edit, so I can fix everything and make the story better! As of right now, I apologize for the fact that you guys had to read through that!**

**-zesty-**


	49. Chapter 48: A Way To Be

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 48: A Way To Be**

"_You better be finding him!"_ The voice was so shrill, the guard was sure he saw the frozen plants cower away. Somewhere in the castle, he swore he heard glass crack.

Though relatively melodramatic _all_ the time – this time was even worse. Kuja was a complete disaster. He was groaning and pacing, and mumbling strange things about failure and power, revenge and emotions turning against you. He walked around like he didn't know what to do with himself, and honestly… even though he was just a grunt, this soldier was _sure_ it was because the Dreamer had outsmarted and almost out powered him on Terra.

He wasn't there, but some of his best buddies were, and they said that they'd never seen a fight quite like that. Some of them were actually openly rooting for the one called Zidane – growing tired of Kuja's relentless attitude with the war. It had been going on for so long, half of his army had spent most of their life in Alexandria – away from their family. Their family that was getting slaughtered by the very side they fought for.

"I can't believe this…" Kuja seemed to whimper to himself, eyebrows knit together as his hands encircled each other. "How could he have almost overpowered me? Me?" Then he growled, flicking his hair from his face and bellowing, "I'm the ruler of this world!" The sounds vibrated, bouncing off the walls into the eerie silence.

The door was suddenly pushed open, and the blonde girl stepped inside, sweeping her hands across the floor as she bowed. He turned slowly to her, a look of ease finally crossing his face.

"My dear… Tell me good news…"

"We have… unexpected visitors…" Her emerald eyes pierced into him as a small smirk sprouted on her lips. They curled back into a snarl, like she had tasted something sour. "_Rebel_ visitors…"

His eyes widened, along with any guards that were just about to get the lecture of a lifetime. Kuja stalked forward, as though she were playing a prank on him. Through his thickly make up done eyes, he glared at her, "Why Elouise, would you lie to me?"

She shook her head, a blonde, spiral wave falling from her bun and framing her face, "This is no lie, M'lord… They come with information… Should I let them in?"

He motioned basically before she'd finished the question.

Guards held onto each of their arms, and Kuja's ice-like eyes pierced the soul of each and every one who came into the room. He could already tell that at least two of them thought this was a very big mistake.

"Who _are_ you?" Kuja inquired, standing at his full height, and looking _extremely_ dangerous for a powerful man who looked like he was dressed in underwear and a skirt.

The one in front sucked in a deep breath, eyes not wavering, "I was a former knight of Alexandria, and my mother and brother were slaughtered in Dali when the resistance was found out… I come to you with information about the Dreamers – Zidane Tribal and Vivi Ornitier…"

"But who are _you_?" Her asked with a growl in his tone. The soldiers snapped to attention at his sharp tone.

He closed his eyes, wondering for a moment if he would regret his decision to come here. "The only thing you need to know, is that my name is Bronson."

* * *

"Maybe you should take a break…" Freya bit her lip, showing doubt on her usually emotionless face.

"Again…" He commanded, his chest heaving hard.

"Zidane –"

"Again." He repeated with a nod, bringing his dagger closer to his chest.

She sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to argue with him, and launched another lethal attack. He was getting slower and slower at dodging, and she was worried she might actually hit him.

Ruby watched from the side lines, wringing her gloves together. She would bite her lip nervously, and flinch back every time she was sure Zidane would get caught in Freya's power. Blank stood rigidly beside her. He, of course, was up for helping his best friend train, but _this_ wasn't going to help him.

Zidane barely had time to register any of this. His feet had just touched the ground before he had to jump again to dodge Freya's strange magic attack. He flipped backwards, feeling the sting on his tail. He could also feel the hesitation in the spell.

"Keep going!" He demanded breathlessly. How would he ever be able to defeat Kuja's relentless attacks from more than one foe, if he couldn't keep up against his hesitant friend. "Blank! Join in!"

The redhead rolled his eyes, and drew his dagger. Ruby's hands wrapped around his arm, "What are you doin'?"

"Stopping this…" He murmured, staring at her.

She couldn't clearly see his eyes, but let him go anyways, turning towards the two sparring to watch. Blank leapt into the middle of them, easily kicking the Bermecian's extra dagger, slid into her sleeve, out and to his left hand. He barred one dagger against each foe.

"Enough!" He bellowed warningly, and immediately, Freya backed down.

Zidane gave him a grin and tried sparring with him, but Blank held firm. "Zidane, I know you want to get stronger –"

"I have –"

"_I know…_" The redhead grunted with frustration. "But you also have to understand, that this isn't going to help you heal faster –"

"I don't have time to heal, Blank!" Zidane placed his hands on the other thief's shoulders, "We are leaving tomorrow and –"

"I don't care… Make time, or I will personally slit your throat while you sleep, before you get on that airship…"

There was silence for a moment, as though both were sizing the other up. Finally, a grin broke onto Zidane's sweaty face.

"You win…" He collapsed into the grass, and relief flooded the three others with him. Though in the last twenty-four hours, the blonde had been acting completely different, at least some of his personality still shined through. "I'm beat!" He heaved, and Freya offered him some of her water.

He guzzled down the whole thing in three big gulps, and smacked his lips before making a breathy, "Haaaaa…" noise that drifted noiselessly into the wind.

"You're doing well," The Bermecian offered, adjusting the dagger back into her sleeve.

"Thanks…" He grinned cheekily, "I didn't even know you kept a dagger in your jacket…"

She gave him a sly, toothy grin back, "You don't know a lot of things, Zidane Tribal…" He let out a comfortable laugh, and the others slowly joined him on the grass.

"Are ya sure it's a good idea to go towith us, Zidane?" Ruby questioned. Blank's face had basically been screaming this question (but in more understandable English) since they'd been called in for the meeting, but he hadn't said a thing…

Count of Ruby to be so dense to make a statement.

He sighed, knowing eventually he'd have to face this. "If I could take on Kuja in Terra, I'm sure I'll do fine in Treno… Besides, he doesn't let those creatures out anymore, right? Not with all of his dreamers caught…"

"One," Blank started bitterly, "You barely made it out of Terra, or had your ego inflated so far that it's blocked out the memory of only a month ago…? And two, sometimes they still lurk – always finding new and interesting people to abduct…"

This seemed to stop the blonde in his tracks. He shuttered involuntarily, but tried to cover it up. "It'll be fine… _Both_ of you… I've got one of the most elite teams ever watching my back…" He smirked, "Not just two idiots doing a scout patrol as punishment for late curfew…"

Blank actually snickered, remembering the circumstance that they got themselves into that mess. Now that Zidane was here, in the flesh (though having been near death plenty of times since the two friends had reunited), it was easier to glance back at the memory, and remember the details about that wretched evening.

But then he sobered, and stared at his best friend, before crawling over and clasping a very serious hand on his shoulder. "Zidane…"

It was quiet for a moment, and they listened to the distance chatter of voices.

In a low, quiet voice more serious than the blonde was sure he'd ever heard it, the redhead spoke, "I don't regret anything more in my life, than leaving you there that day…"

Lids closed over blue eyes as the Genome mulled over what his best friend had said. He hated – _hated_ – that Blank blamed himself for that horrible night… The night that Zidane honestly couldn't be prouder of… He may have been caught, but he had saved Blank's life in the process. Both of them knew only one would be taken prisoner – very rarely were pairs captured.

"I know…" Was all the blonde could lamely retort. Then he opened his eyes and gave a small smile. Their days might have been numbered, but they weren't going to go out without a fight. "Let's go kick some ass."

So it seemed that Zidane had accepted his fate once again, and this time, he wasn't going to push his luck. But if Zidane already knew he would most likely die in this last attempt to round up the scattered good verse Kuja's spreading evil, then it was likely all the others knew as well.

"Hey you jack asses!" All of them looked up to see Baku, his wide arms crossed over his burly chest, "Get over here so we can _properly_ train ourselves!" He barked.

The three Tantalus jumped up and ran towards him, but Freya stayed on the ground. She watched Zidane run, tilting his head back every so often to glance with a grin at his two friends. She pushed the silver hair from her eyes and stood slowly.

"Freya, love…" She turned to see Fratley standing only feet away from her. He extended a hand, "Come here…"

She moved robotically towards Fratley, and without another word, he pulled her in where she was already going – to his arms, and he tightly held her hoping his touch was full of safety and security.

"Why?" She whispered, and he pulled back just in time to see a tear escape her eye and roll down her cheek.

Out of this whole mess, this was the _very_ first time Freya had shown any weakness. She looked dejected and sad, and rubbed tiredly at her eyes. "Why?" She asked a little stronger. But with that strength came more tears, and soon Fratley was holding her as she sobbed.

"War is wretched," she managed through her emotions, "War is weak. It cowers behind the grief people feel at the loss of a loved one… Especially in such a war as domination. Kuja is not fighting a real war with us – he is playing cat and mouse, cowering behind his overwhelming armies, scared of a true fight of skills with those who stand up to him…"

"I know, love…" That was all Fratley could say. He didn't disagree with her at all, but he hadn't any more to add. She had hit the nail right on the head.

She pulled back then, and he pushed the hair out of her face so he could see her eyes. They burned with a fury and passion he very rarely saw the ever-calm Freya develop.

"If Zidane doesn't finish the job, I will personally _kill_ Kuja…" Fratley smiled… That was Freya.

"And I'll be right by your side to help," he promised, and kissed her forehead. "We should probably get going…" And without any hesitation, he began to move, keeping her long hand intertwined with his own.

* * *

Zidane looked around his room with his hands on his hips. His bright blue eyes scanned the area, wondering if there was any hidden luck he had forgotten to take with him. They all needed this recruitment plan to work.

At least when he was dead, he'd figure out who was real, and who was fake, in his dream world, right?

"Zidane?"

The voice he thought would seek him out – that lovely, soprano voice that made all of his heart ache and mistakes worth staying underground or in the trees… unfortunately hadn't come to see him. He turned to see Vivi standing nervously in the doorway.

"Hey Vivi, what's up?"

"Can I ask you something?" He questioned.

"Sure…" Zidane tilted his head, and beckoned him inside, "Take a seat."

Vivi waddled over to the chair pushed up against the wall and hopped into it. He thought for a long moment, watching the thief's attention slowly melt off of him, and focus on other things in the room.

"How are you so positive?"

The question definitely caught him off guard. He turned around, his direct attention on the black mage again. The little guy seemed to shrink into himself. "What I mean is… Everyone is saying that you're going to die…" His voice got choked up, and suddenly, Zidane was in front of him, worried.

"Vivi, nobody is going to let you die."

"That's n-not why I'm c-crying…" He stuttered, wiping at his misty yellow eyes.

"Then why?" The Genome narrowed his eyes and sat back on his haunches on the ground, leaning forward so he could hear his quiet friend better.

"I don't want you to die…" There was silence as Zidane suddenly tried to keep himself together. Vivi took that as a queue to go on. "You've been there for me since day one. You're the only one besides my Grandpa who ever stopped to help me, and you've done nothing but help me since…

"Zidane, you're my best friend… You've taught me to be brave, and to keep smiling for the sake of others… But I can't do that – not if you're going to die."

"Vivi…" Zidane choked.

Since day one… Way back, months, and months that felt like decades ago, to that first moment he woke up cold on that cot, Zidane couldn't recall a time that he had cried. Maybe there were a few times where his vision had blurred with hot drops and fury, but never had he been sitting and speaking to someone, and broken down. Not when he didn't know where he was, not when he found out that his parents were dead, or that Blank was alive. Not the countless times he had almost died, or watched others get hurt or wounded because of him. Not any time that Rusty had yelled at him, or even when Bronson had told him he didn't deserve Dagger's affection…

And yet, being told by Vivi that he didn't want Zidane to die…

Here he was, his face in his hands, vision misty, his shoulders shaking. He was crying…

"Don't cry…" Vivi tried to command him, but there wasn't enough spirit in his voice to give any optimism. More tears seemed to be shed when both of them realized how many times the blonde had told the mage just those two words… and how, after this mission, it would probably never happen again.

There was silence, save for a few muffled sobs, peppered with some sniffles. Each was motionless, not knowing exactly what to do in their current state. Zidane was the first to sit up, his eyes blood shot, tear stains on his dirty cheeks. He sucked in a huge breath, and rubbed away his sadness on his gloves. Then he put his hands on Vivi's shoulders.

"No matter what happens, Vivi… I'm so positive because I know they've got you… I know you don't see it, but Vivi you woke up from that dream… That means you are just as powerful as I am. The only thing you're lacking is confidence… If I'm gone, they're still going to have one kick ass magic user to help them… Someone others can look up to… I'm positive because if I go, I know all of you have a better chance of living…"

"Don't be so brave…" Vivi shyly told him. Zidane's eyes widened a little – he had never heard his friend say something like that before. "Aren't you scared to die? You're so gallant, and convinced that this is going to help everyone else… But what if it doesn't? You're sitting right in front of me, and just talking about this, my confidence in this cause, my happiness – everything is already draining. I feel no use waking up tomorrow and boarding that airship… I wish that I could take you and Beatrix and Steiner and Dagger and Quina and Eiko and Cid and just _run_. Don't you care about what you're leaving behind?"

It took him a long time to answer. Of course, Vivi was right on the money. There was nothing more that Zidane would love to do, than take those close to him, and _run_. But, where would that leave the others? The ones he wasn't close to? They wouldn't stand a chance without people who knew what they were doing…

He watched Dagger cry in that meeting today, and his heart ripped into two. He didn't want to leave. He didn't want to be done horsing around with Blank and the rest of Tantalus, or listen to Rusty grumble about how much trouble Zidane was, or have Freya always around to give him advice… He especially didn't think he'd had enough time with Dagger. Laughing with her, kissing her, having her completely _safe_ in his arms…

But he couldn't condemn anyone else, their feelings, thoughts, or lives, because he wanted to live… and that included the one sitting before him calling him out. So he smiled and said, "That's really how I feel, Vivi… Of course I care, and of course I'm going to miss you guys, but if it means all of you can live… There isn't anything else I'd rather do…"

But Vivi wasn't fooled. His glowing eyes narrowed, but he shook his head and pulled his hat closer to his eyes. "I don't believe you… but you don't have to explain that to me… I understand."

"I'm so sorry, Vivi…" He whispered. Instead of answering, the mage jumped into his arms for a hug.

"You are the best friend I could have ever asked for…"

Instead of doing an actual goodbye, Zidane chuckled and pushed the mage gently back. "You talk about me like I'm already dead!"

And Vivi could have shot back _aren't you?_ But instead he smiled too, "Sorry."

* * *

Dagger closed her eyes, feeling a little more power than the last time she tried.

Cure was not an easy spell. Its advanced forms were even _harder_ to master. But she had to try… If there was a spell that might be able to save Zidane from death, then she was going to learn it.

"Dagger?" The high pitched voice made her jump. She wasn't used to Eiko's voice, even after all this time.

"Eiko?" She questioned, turning around. The girl was in the doorway, feet pointed in, and fingers hooked behind her back. She rocked from side to side, looking _too_ innocent to let it go. "What are you doing here? Don't you want to get some sleep?"

"Well yeah…" She rolled her eyes, "But I had to come talk to you."

"Me? What for?"

She walked forward, confidence suddenly overflowing from the girl. She shot a pointed finger at Dagger, "You haven't seen Zidane at all, have you?!"

There was silence as Dagger weighed how to answer. But Eiko beat her to it. "I'll take your silence as a no."

"Excuse me?" Dagger tilted her head, her hair falling over her shoulder, "I don't think –"

"No… Just listen to me talk…" She nodded, determined – so determined that Dagger's mouth clamped shut. "You know…" She wrung her hands together like she was going to admit something big. "You know… I'm in love with Zidane!" She all but shouted.

This girl? This six or seven year old girl was in love with Zidane? Dagger's lips twitched up into a smile.

"Don't laugh!" She demanded. "He's only ever been nice to me, and I can tell he's pretty interested." The raven haired girl had to refrain from raising an eyebrow, "But… Even though he's into me, he's got this real strong, weird connection with you. I think everyone else thinks he's in love with you, but I know better than that."

This kid really wasn't helping Dagger's mood, but somehow, she was actually igniting a little humor in the yellow-clad girl's mind.

She narrowed her eyes, suddenly suspicious. "But he _does_ care about you… And I can tell from your silence through this whole conversation that you care about him too!" She crossed her arms, almost _glaring_ at the girl. When Dagger didn't respond, her face broke into a crimson red, and her eyebrows knit downward. "You better take care of him!"

Dagger blinked, thoroughly surprised. "What?"

"Everyone's going around saying Zidane's going to die! But I know him better! He's not going to die…" She crossed her arms. "But he might get in trouble… And I don't know anyone better for the job, except me, but I might not be there, because I might be saving other people, but I can't find anyone better for the job of getting him out of a jam, than you!"

"Me?" She questioned back.

"You!" Eiko sighed, collapsing onto her butt. "Man, that was tough to get through…"

"Why do you think I should save him?"

"You're sitting in here trying to make yourself learn another cure spell… I think that screams dedication…"

"Hm…" Was all she said back.

It was quiet for a moment while Dagger stared at the girl. Eiko's amber eyes roamed around the room, and the rebel leader could just _tell_ if she wasn't there, the purple haired girl would steal everything in sight. Then suddenly, amber eyes slid back to her.

"I could help you, you know…"

"Huh?"

"With your spell… I could help…"

Dagger narrowed her eyes. She was trying to figure out a nice way to tell the six year old, dreaming girl that it took a very special type of person to be able to do magic – let alone _white_ magic… That was the rarest. "Eiko… See the thing is… There are these things called –"

"White mages…" She nodded, "I know what you're about to say…" She grabbed Dagger's hand suddenly, and flipped it over, revealing a small cut from the ground when Bronson had hit her, still not quite healed. The room lit up just a little, and tiny lights that look like jeweled began to spiral upward from the cut in her hand.

In just a moment, it's like those tiny light fragments extracted the injury from her hand, and it was as good as new.

The black haired girl stared. And continued to stare, and then stared some more. She had never seen a cure cast on herself before… Beatrix did them every so often, but they drained so much of her power, she liked to keep Dagger in that role, so she could use her mana for other things. But… This little girl…

She glanced up, and Eiko smiled gently at her. "I asked around when Zidane was gone… I was…" Her cheeks went pink, "trying to get some information about you two, just to see what you were about…" She shrugged, "someone came back with a story on how you actually summoned a creature in Alexandria…"

Dagger didn't say a word.

"Well… I thought maybe I should tell you that I do that too…"

"What?" She gasped, leaping up.

Eiko nodded, "Leviathan, Ifrit, Ramuh, Shiva, you name it, I'll summon it!"

The girl's chocolate eyes were wide with shock. This girl came in, telling her she had to protect Zidane, then did a total one-eighty and told her she could _summon_?! No one else in the entire world had been able to summon and… Well – that's exactly what Kuja was looking for!

"How did you learn that?"

"I've always been able to! I mean, for awhile anyways… I think I've always had the power, but it took Mog awhile to teach them to me… It's hard to explain something you've never done – you know?"

"I can't believe this…" Dagger fell back in a chair, a hand to her forehead. "We have to tell Cid!"

"Wait!" Eiko cried, jumping up. "No! I haven't told anyone, because I didn't want anyone to know… No one knows but the moogles, and they're good at staying out of people's ways. I've heard the stories too, you know… Moogles have stories about everything! Kuja wants a summoner – that's why he wants you so bad!"

"How do you –"

"I don't want to be on the radar…" She sighed and looked down, "I know it sounds selfish, but I don't want to… If it weren't for making so many friends, and being captured, I would have stayed out of this fight for good… No stupid troops were going to come to my dinky little cave and try and take down a little girl… A mage or a guard might come check on me every so often, but I have rows upon rows of boulders – I could see them coming for _ages_! I don't want people to know… I only told you so I could help you…"

"I just don't understand…" She breathed, "Why wouldn't you want to help?"

"Being in this resistance is terrifying. If I can help – great… But I don't want to be in danger of torture and a living life of terror if Kuja gets a hold of me… I know you wouldn't want that either, but you're the Princess, and everyone already knew that you could summon… Because the Princess always _could_ summon – it's in all the books that Kuja got his hands on such a long time ago. And besides… I don't want to give Kuja a two in a million chance at what he wants, instead of just one."

"How do you know all this?"

"Like I said… I live with a bunch of moogles, and their favorite thing is to write letters to each other… I know a lot more than everyone thinks I do…"

"Oh Eiko…" Dagger fell to her knees and hugged the girl. "I understand… I won't tell…"

"And one more thing?"

"Yeah?"

"Now that this is out in the open… Protect Zidane… Because I can't… Because I can't cast those spells… Protect him, because I love him… Because I think deep down, you know you love him too…"

_If you only knew…_ Her mind breathed at her, pushing all other conscious thoughts backwards. They sat like that, hugging each other for another long while, unsure of what to do next.

* * *

**A/N: Wow! What an interesting chapter :) Not much to say, except that I hope that you like it!**

**Please leave me some love, lovelies!**

**-zesty-**


	50. Chapter 49: Time to Go

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 49: Time to Go**

The sun's golden rays were just peaking over the horizon line. The air was crisp, stinging his nose and throat when he sucked it in. He adjusted the pack on his shoulder, eyes sweeping his companions. Not many were out yet – ready to leave the rickety home they had made for themselves after their flee from Dali.

Sapphire eyes caught sight of a blue jay, her song brightening the dreary mood of the morning, and lightening his spirit a little bit. Some animals could still go on being happy… that meant that every species still had a chance at it, right?

"Zidane…" He turned around, relief flooding his features.

Dagger was standing in front of him a little awkwardly. Her arms wrapped around herself protectively, like she was holding herself up, and her eyes were guarded, but hurt. The wind brushed her hair away from her face so he could see her clearly.

He straightened, and a small, lopsided smile took over his face. "Hey Dagger…"

"I…" Her frail voice clipped off at the end, and she blinked helplessly at him. But she promised herself that when she did finally speak to him, she would keep herself intact – strong. The girl sucked on her lip for a moment, before sighing and staring at him straight in the eye. "I'm going to protect you…"

His breath left him in a sort of laugh, and he made a swift motion towards her. Covering the three our four foot distance between them in almost no time flat, he swept her up in his arms and hugged her tight. She clung to him in return.

"You're coming home with me… I made a promise, and dammit… I'm determined to keep it."

"Oh Dagger…" He brushed his lips against her hair, feeling the warmth radiate from her, as he tried to make himself bigger to protect her from the chilly wisps of wind. "We still have time to talk… We will talk… We've got time…"

_Not a lot of time…_ She wanted to remind him, but at this point, the raven wasn't going to be picky. So she nodded her head, tucking herself beneath him further. "Yes… we do."

Eiko looked on at them, smiling triumphantly. She had done her job in making the girl speak to her precious Zidane, and for that, she really had no reason to be angry.

The rustling of leaves brought her attention to the right, and her amber eyes slid to a stop on none other than Vivi. His eyes widened a little, obviously intimidated by the free opinion of this girl, and he took an unconscious step away from her.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "Is that any way to treat a lady?"

"S-sorry…" She imagined if she could see it, he'd be blushing right about now.

"Are you okay? There's no reason to be so grumpy this early in the morning!" He gave her a long, strange look, before shaking his head.

"I'm not grumpy," he insisted, "it's just early and cold –"

"Suck it up, buttercup! We're on the edge of the forest! A few feet into the wild plains and you hit _desert_! How could you possibly be _cold_?!"

He took another step back and she huffed, so obviously offended. He turned away from her then, and focused his attention elsewhere. It took a while of staring on her part, to realize he had no intentions of focusing back on her, before she finally followed his gaze.

The pair watched Steiner and Beatrix say goodbye to some people they'd been teaching to fight for _months_. There was a young couple from Dali who had fled with them, hoping to fight. And then there was a woman – probably around eight months pregnant, who swept Beatrix up in a hug, igniting a laugh from the chestnut haired woman.

A handful of braver young men ventured proudly towards Steiner to shake his hand and wish him the best of luck, and one even had enough nerve to sweep up Beatrix's hand and give it a chaste kiss.

"I wish that many people cared that I was leaving…" Vivi's shocked face turned towards the girl, who kicked at the dirt beneath her with her shoe.

"What?" He asked her, wondering if he heard right.

She gestured at the former knights in front of her with a shrug, "I mean look at them! They're basically famous – well… they are kind of famous, everybody knows about them… But I mean, watch how everybody says goodbye like they're genuinely scared they'll never come back… Do you see people coming up to me and saying that to me?" She sighed, "I know I've only been here a few months but… someone ought to care by now…"

Vivi stared at the girl for a moment. Her normally loud and happy (if not hyper active) nature was dropped, and she stared at the ground sadly.

"All I've ever had were the moogles… And they can't come with me – not even Mog…" She closed her eyes, feeling the first signs of warmth in the air when she shifted into the sun. "I miss them…"

Without really thinking about it, suddenly Vivi turned and started to walk away. She jumped at his sudden movement, her head snapping up, jaw dropping when she saw him so rudely marching away.

Blinking, the girl wasn't sure what to say, and slowly turned around. Her confusion clouded even the ability to be mad and scream at him, and that awful feeling of thinking nobody would even notice if she died on this mission sunk over her again.

She sat in silence for a few minutes, hearing the suddenly loud chatter around her. She saw everyone embracing someone – nobody (save for Amarant standing, angry, against a tree, but he hated everybody) was alone… except her.

Even Quina had a few of the younger children, not quite scared enough to stay away, but too frightened to get too close, coming to say goodbye to him.

"Excuse me…"

She turned around, annoyed that Vivi had so easily come back. But when she turned, she saw that his jacket and hat were on his head backwards, and he tried to squint his eyes to make himself look different.

A snort escaped her throat despite her best efforts, and she shook her head, "Vivi, what are you doing?"

"Vivi? Who is this Vivi you're talking to me about?" He asked, his voice shy.

"Oh?" She raised her eyebrow, "Who are you then?"

"I'm…" He glanced around nervously, unsure of what to say. But then his yellow eyes seemed to light up, "I'm Ivi!"

"Ivi… That's a funny name!"

"So is Eiko!" He told her, putting his hands on his hips. Her boisterous laughter stopped abruptly.

"Did you come here to make fun of me?! I don't want to deal with it right now!" Eiko stomped her foot, her cropped purple hair flying in front of her face.

He tried to stop a laugh as he straightened up, suddenly finding humor in her little tantrum. It was like he gained random confidence pretending to be someone else.

"I actually came to just tell you something…"

"What?" She snipped at him.

"I'm really glad I've gotten to know you over the last few months…" He started, watching her face closely for a reaction. It took a minute for her to realize what he was saying, but he stopped her before she could say anything. "You're um… voice is very formidable, and if I didn't see how short you are, I'd be kind of scared of you… Actually, I already kind of am – but" he threw his hands in front of him, shaking them side to side, "_In a good way_! And well…" In the quickest way possible, he leaned forward and pecked her cheek, before wheeling backwards, averting his eyes. "I hope that you come back alive…"

And just like that, he was racing away to nowhere in particular – just really hoping to get out of sight from the girl.

She blinked and touched her cheek, watching the mage run off. Had he really done all that just to please her? Her signature face-splitting grin plastered her face, and her eyes brightened. "You too!" She called as loud as she could, earning a few stares from others, but for the most part, going ignored… especially by Vivi himself.

* * *

"You look crabbier than usual, Blank," The blonde teased, passing him on the way into the airship.

Cinna snickered and made faces at the redhead as he walked by, sticking his tongue out and poking at him. Blank slowed down, an irritated scowl carved further into his face.

"Knock it off you two!" Baku barked from behind them, and the shortest thief turned around, desperation on his face.

"I wasn't even doing anything!"

Cinna snickered and continued to dance around him, trying to piss him off further. It didn't take long, however, for Marcus to catch up, and smack his plump friend on the side of the head. He lost his balance and tumbled into Blank.

The redhead couldn't get out of the way in time and tripped over his own feet, clawing at the air, trying to find something to catch himself. Zidane's shoulders' were the unfortunate victims and all three of them collapsed in a heap of tangled limbs on the ground.

Ruby was the next to pass them, and she flipped her hair over her shoulder, "How immature! I need ta find betta company!"

"Just shut up and get on the ship," their leader spoke to everyone, rolling his eyes and face palming.

Beatrix watched the group in silent awe as she walked. Her steps were careful, and her armored boots echoed on the wooden ramp they took into the Prima Vista. It wasn't exactly her choice of airship, but she wouldn't complain.

What really concerned her was Tantalus themselves. Here they were, all bickering and laughing with each other, no matter how eerie the attitude was. She imagined it was something like this – bitter sweet moments that had everyone letting out hard laughs – on the way to Terra as well, Zidane's short future laid out in front of them for all to see the ending.

With her hands clasped behind her back, her almond eyes swept over the first view of the ship. To be perfectly honest, she hadn't been on this ship many times in her life, and Tantalus had been with the resistance for what felt like forever. The theatre troupe was about as elite as they came, considering it was a group of teenage thieves who conned people by performing plays.

A wry smile formed on her lips as she flicked one of her large curls away from her cheek. The brunette wondered if they'd ever live long enough to do that again… Nowadays, very few places in the world could Tantalus go, without being recognized by Kuja's goons, and captured.

Captured…

They could all be captured on this next mission… Captured, tortured, killed… She found it ironic that Alexandria was the place she fought for, and yet… that would be her demise.

"Beatrix…" She jumped a little when her name was spoke, and she turned around to see Cid, standing behind her with a concerned look on his face.

"Yes, Regent Cid?" She gave a slight bow, but he put his hand up to stop her.

For a moment, he had to halt and looked at the woman. So many years he watched as the pain of the war ground into her eyes… Her hopes of having a family – of Alexandria being restored – slowly slipping away. And yet here she stood still, with her duties out in front of her, even enough to give a slight bow to a man who no longer possessed a kingdom.

"I know that you see it fit, despite what Adelbert says…" Beatrix raised an eyebrow in surprise. He only ever used Steiner's first name when he was about to say something really sincere… "That Garnet lead and does what she deems fit –"

"Regent –"

He held up his hand once more, softly though, a tender look in his eyes. "And I agree with that… Only…" He glanced up the board, seeing the last of the fallen Tantalus members gain their balance and board the ship, still horsing around. "I fear she will do whatever it takes to protect Zidane, and while I full heartedly agree that she should be allowed to do this," he looked away, almost ashamed, "if it comes down to the very last second, and it is a choice between letting Dagger live or die, _please_ do not let my niece die…"

Needless to say, the former knight was positively shocked. The words that Cid spoke were so grave, yet so true. She tried to imagine, in all the images and knowledge she'd gained through the war, what the scenario would be like – ripping Dagger away from Zidane at the last second, when she still believed in her heart she could save him – if she had the strength to do it at all…

He took her silence as a cue to continue, "If we are to come out of this war, no matter how broken and batter, but victorious… That is the time that Dagger must rise to her true title as Queen Garnet Alexandros XVII," he shook his head gravely, "No matter what she may say, or the feelings she may hold, Garnet is our hope in this rebellion… Seeing that there is still a young ruler – a new generation that holds hope of a free future, people will fight… If Garnet falls…"

Beatrix had to look away. To pull Dagger away from the happiness she had found in this wretched war? That was almost unbearable to think about. But as the seconds passed and Cid remained calm, but steady for an answer, her eyes slowly found their way back to his face.

"I'll protect her…" Her eyes were hard, expression unreadable. "Just like I always have."

"Thank you, Beatrix… I know it is so much to ask, but I fear for my niece's safety… I wish with all my heart I didn't have to send her away – that I could keep her with me underground until all the bad in her world has gone away…"

"But she will fight…"

He nodded, his eyes slowly closing as he released a breath. "Indeed, she will fight…" At that point, the brunette wasn't sure if he was still talking about her will to help protect, or fight to protect Zidane in particular. "Good luck, Beatrix…" He took her hand in both of his, his deep eyes finally showing his age – especially after the toll of being on the run for so long.

"Thank you, Regent…" She smiled at him then, realizing that though she might not agree with his words, he deserved a little consoling once in a while too… Even though he did not participate in field battles, he made all behind-the-scene decisions, and losing your love and your kingdom could be a pretty difficult thing to swallow.

With that, she found herself turning away and finally, the last to board the ship. She was hoping that once they were done traveling the world as test dummies for other places to be scoured for help… Maybe she would finally have enough people behind her to go home… Not just to the broken sticks of the forest, or under the soil of Dali… but _home_ to Alexandria.

Maybe they would win…

And then she entered the room, spying Dagger longingly watching Zidane tick off Blank, Ruby chastising the two, even though the redhead was saying nothing, and her heart sunk. If they won… what price would it come at?

Would Dagger even be fit to rule a kingdom, if Zidane's life was lost?

* * *

"Hey Marcus! How come you hate pissing Blank off nowadays? It used to be a pass time of ours!" Cinna griped, squatting down and then leaning back until he was on his butt, and could stretch his legs out in front of him.

"Ha ha…" Blank grumbled, narrowing his eyes, though his headband covered the hostile gesture.

Zidane grinned at Marcus, "He just can't watch someone else get tormented who has the same attitude as him… That wouldn't be right."

"You best shut your mouth, Zidane," Marcus warned, his steely eyes landing on his blonde friend, "Karma might come bite you in the ass!"

The thief sat up, eyebrow risen, in challenge. "Oh? What was that Marcus? An invitation?"

"I think that'd be a warnin', Zidane…" Ruby shook her finger at the duo on the floor, from her chair by the controls. "Ya'll better stop pickin' on Marcus and Blank, or they're sure to snap and come after ya!"

"I really doubt that!" Cinna rolled his eyes and laid back on the wood. "Hey, how come nobody else ever wants to come talk with us!" He glanced at the blonde beside him, who matched his stare with a perplexed look.

"Who's this 'us' you're talking about, Cin?"

Said thief stuck his tongue out, and then adopted an irritated expression. "No wonder why you're so good at annoying people!" That one actually earned a chuckle from Marcus, and Blank shook his head – signaling he at least thought it was funny.

"Would you guys shut up?!" Baku barked from the control chair, his conversation with Steiner finally interrupted enough to say something.

"You know what's the best?" Marcus questioned, ignoring their leader altogether.

"What?" The three other boys asked, taking the bait.

"Pissing _Baku_ off," he hissed, an impish grin coming over his face.

The other boys chuckled, and decided they'd act on this.

"I wouldn't –"

"Ahh, you're no fun, Rubes! Go be a party pooper somewhere else!" Blank insisted, shooing her away. She huffed and stormed to the other side of the room, intent on talking to Dagger. But said girl seemed to be engrossed (like most others who were present) on the scene at the front of the ship.

Cinna got up, deciding to take one for the team, and become the bait. "Hey! Bak! Come look at this! I think there's something wrong with the meter!" He pointed, and threw a glance over his shoulder.

The others looked far too innocent for their own good, but the man didn't notice. Usually, Cinna knew his stuff when it came to ship maintenance. He flicked the auto pilot switch and hobbled on over to check it out.

With a battle cry all their own, the three other boys threw themselves at Baku, tackling him to the ground. With a cheeky grin from Cinna, he belly flopped into the fray of yelling, punching, and probably some biting as well.

"How unprofessional!" Steiner commented, aghast.

"You just don't know how to have fun!" Zidane insisted from the ground, barely dodging a punch from his angry (but somehow still laughing) superior.

"I know plenty how to have fun!" He insisted, crossing his arms in a huff. He heard a mellow giggle from Dagger behind him.

Marcus stopped for a moment. He knew the comment would get him in trouble, but at this point, he was willing to do _anything_ for everyone to loosen up a little bit. "Oh is _that_ what's going on when you summon Beatrix to your room at night? I thought for sure it was just battle stuff!"

In the most uncharacteristic way possible, Dagger snorted from her spot by the door, slapping a hand over her mouth to try and hide her fit of laughter. Beatrix, who had been standing and occasionally listening to the group by the window, honey brown eyes staring alertly outside the glass, whirled around, face as red as a tomato. But if her face was like a tomato, then there was no red deep enough to describe Steiner's face.

"You little shits!" He howled, and charged for the pile.

The boys tried to scramble to get out of the way, all yelling. But somehow, Baku managed to keep them all down on the ground. "You're getting what you paid for you little bastards!"

Steiner's thick armor clunked against the ground as he tried to pin Marcus down to get a rightful punch in the jaw, but if he was going to go after one of their teammates, Tantalus wasn't going to hesitate to fight back. Cinna kicked Marcus out of his grasp from between Steiner's legs, while Zidane's monkey tail wrapped around his leg, and yanked it out from underneath him. Blank proceeded to blind him by piling on top of him, but Baku decided he'd counter the attack and shove the redhead into his comrades.

Basically, all the boys wrestling on the floor formed one big clump that moved from side to side on occasion.

Beatrix wheeled around to look at Dagger, embarrassment still plastered over her face. The girl was trying too hard not to laugh, and even Ruby had an evil grin on her face.

"I can't _believe_ you!" Dagger accused, her voice shrill, but still engulfed in giggles.

Beatrix yanked at her hair, suddenly more uncomfortable than either girl had ever seen. She flipped it over her shoulder, and crossed and uncrossed her arms and legs, anxiety taking over. "No!" She shrieked, "It didn't – I mean I, of course it – well! Nothing happened!" She tried to admit, stumbling over her words.

"I don't get it!" Eiko complained from her spot on the floor, also watching the boys. "I don't get it! Someone tell me why that was so bad! What is everyone talking about?!" This only added more humor to the situation, the girl's constant high pitched voice singing out over everything else.

Cinna and Baku were the first to opt out of the fight, so obviously out of breath after expending so much energy. They literally peeled themselves away, huffing and puffing, clawing at the wood to get out from the other vicious bodies. They laid next to each other on the wood, trying to catch their breath. Cinna even wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a light, but exhausted, laugh.

Steiner was next. He was overheating in his heavy suit of armor, and when he finally realized he had taken part in this barbaric behavior, he stood up quickly, shaking off the remaining Tantalus boys, and taking a seat at least several feet away, his eyes wide, embarrassment still written over his face. His eyes didn't swivel towards Beatrix at all.

As for Marcus, Blank, and Zidane – they continued to wrestle until both the eldest and youngest members ganged up on Zidane, forcing him to opt out of the fight, too tired from all of his laughing. He pulled himself away much like Baku and Cinna, the others playfully kicking him and poking at him as he went.

Marcus and Blank high fived, "All according to plan!"

"What?" Cinna bellowed, sitting up, "That was all _your_ plan?!"

"Payback for trying to piss us off all the time!" Blank winked, his grin never faltering. "It worked well, didn't it!?"

"It wouldn't have, if you hadn't gotten Rusty involved!" Zidane told them between puffs of breath. "Steiner, you put up a good fight!" The man didn't answer, eyes still set wide and towards the floor. Snickers escaped a few in the room when met with his silent reply.

"How come all you boys can have all the fun?!" Ruby demanded with a stomp of her foot, "Ya'll never include us!"

"We included Beatrix!" Marcus happily reminded them. Both Steiner and said brunette cringed at the sound of her name. "Ask Beatrix if it's fun!"

Ruby rolled her eyes, her blue bangs falling in front of her face, but a smile never left her lips. "You boys…" was all she said.

Dagger's eyes lingered on Zidane, who's chest still heaved up and down healthily. When his eyes pivoted up to meet hers, his head upside down on the floor, he smiled. And for once, even though she was caught looking, her eyes didn't tear away.

She smiled back at him, and tilted her head to the side. He chuckled, and broke eye contact first.

The tender moment of no worries was shattered when they heard stomping in the hallway. Voices were heard in a panic in the hallway, and it was none other than Quina who burst through the doors.

"No food!" He bellowed, beady little eyes _very_ upset. "You bring no food!" He ran (or probably more accurately – waddled quickly) to his favorite character in the front control center of the Prima Vista. "Zidane! You pack no food?!"

His tongue was flailing and his stubby little arms were trying to grasp Zidane's shirt in an attempt to get an answer quicker. Slobber was flinging in all directions, and the unfortunate blonde didn't miss his teammates cowering away, unwilling to help.

"What are you talking about, Quina?" He tried to calm down his friend, who only seemed to get more upset with each passing moment.

"No food on ship!" He shrieked out, and began running crazily all over. "Must go back! Must find food!"

"What are you talking about?" He tilted his head, glancing at his other companions who tried to meet his eye with a 'don't give it away' expression. But either Zidane faked it, or really thought it was a cruel thing to do to the Qu, and a dense expression still veiled his features. "There's plenty of food –"

Blank tackled him, and Cinna was shoved into the spotlight. "Ah – ah… Why don't we all try and find you something?! Marcus? Blank? How about you come help me out? Hey! Eiko! You come too!" He glared at her when she pouted, but all moved into the hallway.

Many chattering people bombarded them with questions about how they were going to starve on their journey, but Cinna assured them there must have been food somewhere on the ship. No voice rang out louder than Quina's broken English.

"Hey!" Zidane stood up, crossing his arms suspiciously. "How come everyone told Quina there wasn't any food?"

"I think…" Dagger smiled, "They didn't tell him anything… that was the point."

"What do you mean?"

"That damn Qu eats more than I do!" Baku barked, back in his chair, staring out at the skies. "Tantalus hid the food last night in storage bins so he wouldn't fucking eat everything! Then we really _would_ starve!"

Zidane chuckled, finally let in on the joke. "I guess I can see that…" He looked down at himself and sighed, seeing Quina's spit drip off of him onto the floor. Then, another devilish idea came to mind, and he looked up with a wide grin. "Dagger come give me a hug!"

Her face turned bright red, and she watched in horror as the Genome moved toward her.

"Don't you _dare_ come near me!" She warned, severity in her voice. Her chocolate eyes narrowed when his advance didn't stop.

"Aww, Dagger…" He put on a pouty face – quite comical with the amount of slobber all over his front from the Qu.

The girl let out a squeak and lept off the back of her stool when she realized the blonde wasn't going to stop until he spread the germs. "Zidane!" She yelped, scrambling to get out of the room. She didn't want to turn her back to him, because she knew he could outrun her, but she tried to back petal as far as she could, before he broke into a run.

A scream pierced the air, making everyone busily worried in the hallway turn their heads towards her. Their interest was not lost when they saw the smile dancing on the girl's lips, but definitely squished against walls to get out of the way of the Genome in pursuit of her.

She weaved through the people standing in the crowded hallway, cursing under her breath when she knew they would more easily move for Zidane – giving him the leverage. The raven haired girl ducked down and slide through a side door, not bothering to look behind her as she ran through the more deserted hall.

With her arms out at her side to keep her balance, her balance kept her on the balls of her feet, running around corners and down creaky wooden corridors with nearly no sound. Her smile never left her lips, through her quick glances backwards, almost hitting walls when she did so. Her eyes were more behind her at this point than in front of her, because she couldn't even _hear _Zidane coming.

_Whack!_

This time, she really did hit something, and she fell backwards, tipping towards the ground in a disheveled and surprised heap. But a strong pair of arms wrapped around her securely, pulling her back up.

Her eyes finally pulled back forward, focusing on her savior more than her fall. Her chocolate eyes locked with Zidane's piercingly sapphire ones. His tanned face was darker in the dingy lighting of their run-down airship, and his hair hung in front of his face – just like it always had.

His hot breath reached her face, and even though he had won the game, she held some satisfaction that it wasn't at least a _total_ walk in the park.

But his _eyes_. She couldn't tear her gaze away from his, until he spoke.

"Got'cha… " He whispered at her lovingly, and then pulled her gently forward, locking her lips with his.

Dagger responded quickly, winding her arms around his neck, aware, yet unaware of the fact Quina's spit _did_ indeed get on her freshly washed clothing, just like she'd been trying to avoid. Her own dark eyes fluttered shut, knowing that with Zidane holding her so closely, she didn't need to see to know that she was positively safe, all the way around.

* * *

**A/N: So… There was a little less plot in this chapter, and a little more "Let's have some bonding time with everyone", but that's never bad, right? :)**

**At this point… I'm very thankful to my reviewer and obvious FFIX Chocobo fan, Bobby Corwen (now _Jesters of the Moon_)… She is what is definitely propelling me forward with such speed in this story, and quite frankly, I'm glad she's doing so… This hasn't been as much fun to write in a while, but I'm actually starting to enjoy it again, now that I know where I'm going with it.**

**Leave me love like she did, and I'll update even **_**faster**_**! :) Thanks for anyone who's stuck with me through my writing-constipated times!**

**-zesty-**


	51. Chapter 50: If You Thought That Was

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 50: If You Thought **_**That**_** Was Different…**

"_Come and help me…"_

_She stepped forward unsteadily, trying to be brave. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but that voice sounded like she needed help._

"_Please hurry…" It pleaded with her, and her eyebrows knit together, and her step increased in speed. She did indeed _have_ to hurry._

"_Why aren't you helping me?" It demanded, but gently, still in that sad lull as before._

"_I'm trying!" She insisted, moving forward, tears pricking her eyes. Why was she so upset? Who was this girl that was talking to her? And why couldn't she see her?  
_

"_He won't let anybody be happy… If not him, his followers… his army of dreamers… A resistance cannot defeat the most powerful army ever created…"_

_Beatrix stopped, her chestnut curls flowing in front of her face. Her feet lifted off the black surface, and soon she found herself floating. Her honey eyes misted over with tears, when, with dread, the realization of those words hit her._

_Her whole body was numb as she looked around. "We can try!"_

"_And lose too many to count?" The voice countered. "Lose more than you know? Follow in his footsteps – lead at least an echo of the life you wanted to live."_

_Beatrix's eyes narrowed as she turned around, feeling so claustrophobic in the solid black surrounding her. She found herself kicking forward, propelling herself like she was swimming. The woman sucked in a deep breath, just to make sure she _wasn't_._

"_You don't take into consideration how much hate these dreamers hold…" The girl pleaded, though her monotonous, sad voice never raised a pitch. "Kuja's lies were fed to them, and they cannot be undone. No matter how many truths may or may not lie in their heads, they will fight for an Alexandria they once knew…"_

"_But we can stop them!" She tried to force the information upon this voice she heard, yet couldn't see. "We can stop these dreamers – we have Zidane and Vivi… They can tell them that Kuja was lying!"_

"_To an outside party… Who's to say _you_ aren't lying?" Her voice questioned._

_Beatrix felt her anger grow. She felt herself swell with frustration… She knew this thought – she had had it before, when her doubt was at its peak. But they _could_ stop them… They could, and they would save the world._

"_What about _your_ life, Beatrix?" The child asked her. "What about the things you wanted in your future…?"_

"_They will come in time!" She insisted._

"_But what if they don't…"_

_And then Beatrix turned around, and saw a little girl, dressed in leather hide boots, peasant pants, and a long white blouse, obviously too big for her. Her eyes hair was almond, the locks curling under themselves at the very end. Her stature was small, but confident…_

_She looked almost exactly like Beatrix…_

_There was just one difference…_

_Her eyes were a dark charcoal swirling with so much wisdom and torn with desperation and frustration._

_This girls eyes… Well, her eyes looked exactly like…_

_Steiner's._

* * *

Beatrix awoke with a start. She sat up straight in the chair and glanced around. A book was laid open in front of her, recently serving as her pillow. There was a creak in the airship, but she knew it was just from air pressure…

The night was silent as she moved into the hall, only a candle to guide her way. Her eyes trained in quickly, but didn't venture much further than before her feet. She was worried a corridor would suddenly fall off, and she'd smack into a door, awaking another sleeper.

Eventually, she found an archway that lead into a meeting room. Not the central control station of the ship, but an old room with posters of plays, starring all the Tantalus crew – books upon books, along with crisp sheets of parchment with play lines scrawled messily across the page. There were costumes stuffed into already-full trunks, and trinkets from different places in the world lined the shelves. There were even some bouquets of dried flowers, their smell still engulfing the room.

How could she see all this? A lantern was lit at the middle table, and there was no other than Steiner, sitting next to it. His hands were folded neatly on the table, and his charcoal eyes – the same she'd just seen, though he wasn't involved in her dream at all – were trained on a piece of parchment.

"Steiner?"

He jumped, and hastily stuffed the parchment into the pocket of his pants. She stared at him for a long moment. His regular armor had been shucked away, though a light, mythril shirt was tossed carelessly onto his being, black, armored pants covering the bottom half of his body. His steel boots were still in place, but his helmet was nowhere to be found.

Before she could comment on his trying to be so sneaky, she took a long look at his face. You could tell where his helmet ended, because the dirt and grime that built up over time lined his face, his ears and the highest parts of his forehead, or furthest back parts of his cheeks were clean – well… _cleaner_.

His black hair was completely disheveled – just like it was the few other times she'd ever seen him without his helmet. The brunette knew his sword wasn't strapped to his back, but wasn't stupid enough to think he didn't have a dagger slipped into his boot.

"What are you doing here?" She questioned, tilting her head.

"I was just…" He looked around the room, then heaved a sigh. "I was thinking."

She gestured to the now empty table. "What was that you were reading?"

"Reading?" He let out an uncomfortable laugh, "More like nodding off if you ask me!" He tried to play it off like no big deal, and most of the time, Beatrix would let it go…

But letting it go this time would mean she'd go back to her dark, creaking room, wide awake with the image of her and _Steiner's _daughter burned permanently into her head.

"I don't believe you," she said bluntly, hoping he'd shed some light on the current situation.

He lifted one end of his mouth in a sort of half, crooked smile. "You don't have to…"

She took this as a cue to sit down, and did so comfortably, though his eyes never left her. After a moment of unnecessary movement, she sighed and slipped a tanned hand over his arm.

"Steiner…" She mumbled, staring at his charcoal eyes.

"What's wrong?" He could read right away that something was troubling her.

Beatrix shook her head. "The same thing as always. The constant threat of war looming over our heads… It's messing with my thoughts."

"What do you mean?" He loved that when he spoke to Beatrix one on one, her speech suddenly became informal, and he found she didn't sit in such a superior, uptight position. The contrast was an impressive one.

She didn't want to share her unnerving dream, especially since she wasn't sure where she and Steiner were at. It was obvious that they cared for one another, and someone might even say that they're in love… but they hadn't ever talked about it.

"In my dream…" She sighed, knowing she would exaggerate different parts to keep the child out of her explanation. "A little girl calls out for help…" She shook her head. "When I tell her I'm trying to help, she tells me that Kuja can't be defeated…" She looked up at him, and he watched the flame of the lantern flicker sadly in her honey brown eyes. "She tells me that even if he can, the dreamers will fight… and she tells me, even though I already know, that we cannot win against them…"

Steiner's face went immediately soft, and if it was anyone but Beatrix – who acted far more superior to Steiner than most probably deemed necessary – saw it, they would be shocked.

"Beatrix…" He mumbled, shifting so he could clutch his hand in hers.

They sat like this, quietly, for a long moment.

"You know that's just your doubts playing tricks in your mind…" She wasn't sure if he was talking to himself, or to her.

"And if its not?" She shook her head, "Maybe we ought to just go into hiding, and try to live out the rest of our lives as happily as we can…"

He smiled and tilted his head at her. Slowly, ever so slowly, his unarmored hand rested on her cheek. She seemed to lean into it instantly. "Are we not happy now?"

"I mean… of _course_ I'm happy with you, but I–" His fingers moved to her lips, giving her the signal to silence herself.

"Do you believe if we turned back now, we would be able to live comfortably under Kuja's rule? That is the whole reason to fight…" He leaned forward so their foreheads were almost touching. "I would rather die fighting beside you, then spend and eternity without this war, because I would have never become close to you…"

She let on the faintest of smiles. "It's not exactly poetry, but it'll do…"

He chuckled, and bravely leaned the rest of the way forward, capturing her lips with his.

"We _are_ supposed to be mortal enemies after all…"

She tilted her head, her eyes rolling, and then staring up at him innocently, a coy smile on her face. "Ah yes… we can't forget that."

He smiled again, tenderly, and replaced his hand on her cheek. "Please don't worry about that fight… Who knows… Maybe we'll get enough people to stand behind us… Maybe we can get them to pause, for only a few seconds…"

Beatrix stared at him longingly, unsure of how to answer. After what seemed like decades, she finally spoke – so quiet that he hardly heard her. "Would that be enough?"

"Does it matter at this point?" He shot back at her in a whisper, and pressed his lips against hers once again.

She sighed into it. She was too tired to fight, too longing for his company for her to care… So for a moment – even if it was just for a few seconds, sitting with the shroud of darkness to protect them, just a little flame between the two of them, she allowed herself to let go, and be happy without the weight of the world on her shoulders.

* * *

"I didn't think this would be such an interrogation…"

The man who paced stopped and stared for a moment. Two of the newcomers shrunk back, cowering.

"Such poisonous words from the one who is handcuffed and held by my own personal guards…" He hissed, flipping his hair over his shoulder, and advancing towards the trio. "I can see your friends already wish they hadn't come…" He sighed, taking on a pitying expression for a moment. "That means they probably won't talk…"

"They came with me to show they supported _me_ and what I'm choosing to do! They were never going to talk anyways!"

"Pity…" He sighed, suddenly ignoring the one talking and walking back to the two, quivering on their knees. "What are your names?"

His finger trailed along one's face menacingly; his icy cold hands sent shivers down the man's spine. "Speak!" He snapped, causing all three of them to jump.

"My n-name is D-D-Darious… Pl-please don't k-kill us…"

Kuja let out a ringing laugh, bouncing off of the walls of his office balcony. "My dear friend –" all three of them cringed at the word, "- why would I kill you when you've come to give me information?"

He turned quickly to the other man, who stared down his partner. "And you… My don't you look bitter…" He almost slithered over to him, and examined his features. "Your wound looks fresh – not even a year old…"

The man visibly swallowed.

"Tell me… Was your motive to coming here propelled by the circumstances surrounding how you lost your arm? What is your name?"

"My name i-is Rendell… And y-yes…" He sucked in a breath, trying to control himself. He came here to get Zidane to leave them, after all… The Genome dreamer had been the cause of all of their problems, and giving Kuja information would eliminate him… "Yes… An earlier attack on Dali – one shortly after the dreamers escaped, severed my arm from me…"

Kuja let out another bellowing laugh. "Did you all come because of your hate for the rebellion? Or your hate for the dreamers? Hell, just your hate for Zidane Tribal?"

Nobody would answer.

"I suppose from your silence I can assume yes…" He wanted to tell them how this would expose not just the dreamers, but the entire resistance, but kept his mouth shut. "Then tell away!"

He circled back around to his desk and sat on the front of it, crossing his legs, and leaning towards the resistance members. "Tell me what you know about Zidane and Vivi…"

Elouise also leaned forward in anticipation, from her seat on the balcony's window. Part of her wondered the status of these dreamers… the status of Zidane… What was happening to him? And why in the world would he rebel against Alexandria? She didn't know anyone who loved their simple life style more than him…

* * *

"Look!" Zenero yelled, and turned towards the group, his eyes beaming. "Land! There's land! I see it!" Everyone who was near enough to hear him rushed to his side, trying to see what he saw.

"It's just the reflection of the haze!" One shouted irritably.

"No! It's getting closer!" Another person pointed to the glass, and everyone leaned in close.

It was true – the mountainous structure was coming closer to them in view, and Baku watched excitedly from the wheel, turning their airship directly for the mountain.

News traveled quickly through the ship, and soon, anyone who wasn't there before, rushed to the front of the ship. Baku's eyebrows furrowed.

"Come on guys!" He barked from behind the wheel, trying to pull on it hard to the left so they didn't tip. "It's a piece of land! You've been livin' on it your whole damn life! You're going to flip the fucking ship!"

Enough people backed up that the immediate danger was gone, but nobody wanted to leave the room.

"Stupid, fucking…" he grumbled, glaring at towards the sea.

"We've made it?!" Steiner gasped, running into the room and moving to the front of the ship. He squinted his eyes, trying to make himself see more clearly. "What have we made it _to_?"

"Ipsen's castle is just on ahead!" Zenero shouted from his spot at the navigation board. "Up over that mountain, in the valley!"

Everyone's voices filled the room, but Steiner could see, from the amount of concentration locked on every Tantalus member's face (including even Blank and Zidane), that they weren't helping.

"Come on people!" He suddenly shouted, "Get back into the halls and rooms! Let them handle landing! There's windows scattered all over the ship!" He glanced around, wondering if someone would contradict them, "Ones with better view!"

Immediately, that got people rushing out the door, stumbling over each other. Soon enough, only a few people remained to look out the window, and it seemed the crew could live with that.

"We're going way too fast!" Marcus shouted from one end of the room, pushing buttons and pulling levers. "If we keep up this speed, we'll hit the mountain!"

"That's impossible!" Baku scoffed, "I just looked and –" he glanced again at the gigantic mountain, and it was rapidly approaching now, at least a couple miles closer than before everyone cleared from the room. "Dammit!" He cried.

"What if we go up?!" Cinna yelled, his movements mirroring Marcus'.

"It's too steep of a climb," Zidane shook his head, his eyes wide. "We would never even make it in time!"

"We did not come this far to get stranded on the _wrong_ side of the damn canyon!" Baku growled. "Pull up! I don't care if the engine starts screaming at you! Pull the fucker up!"

"I don't like this!" Cinna cried as everyone yanked down hard on the biggest lever in their station.

"I feel like we're always havin' this problem! No matter where in Tar'nations we go!" Ruby cried out.

The ship started to rumble, and everything started to clatter and shake. "Is there anything we can do?" Beatrix asked, hoping they could help.

"Better start countin' your lucky stars!" Baku laughed, the enjoyment of flying with such high stakes no longer hidden on his face.

The mountain was rapidly approaching now, and the wood groaned in protest, everything jumbling about. Faintly, they could hear the rest of the people on the ship, low screams or anxiety-filled yells rumbling down the halls.

"Here we go!" Marcus told them, the first aware that the ship would scratch the top of the jagged rock.

There was a hideous screeching noise as the heavy wood of the floating airship scraped over the solid earth. But it wasn't this they were worried about. Even as sparks flew outside their windows – everyone's eyes widened when they saw how _narrow_ this valley was.

To get down close enough to the ground before the end of it was sure suicide. It only took a few moments for everyone else to figure this out, because screaming ensured shortly after.

"We're gonna die!" Cinna bawled, his voice an octave higher than it was supposed to be. Needless to say, this statement was not very comforting to those who never flew air crafts.

Everyone threw every device they could reach into the opposite position, and the ship chugged and stalled for a moment, before a quick descent began. If they were going to make it, it was going to be close.

Yells from all around came, and when Beatrix glanced into the hall, she saw everyone scrambling to get to the other side of the ship – not wanting to be there when their viewing side smashed against the rock.

"Hold on to your big boy panties!" Baku screamed, giving one final, giant tug of the wheel, spinning the ship a little bit, before its bottom slammed into the ground. Luckily, it wasn't rocky, and the soil sunk willingly beneath the ship… At least, as willingly as it could considering what had just occurred.

A dust cloud rose up all around them, leaking into just-shattered windows, and the door that malfunctioned on impact had opened. For a long while, everything engulfed in the dust was silent.

No movement was seen, and no life was heard.

And then, all of the groaning and moaning started.

Zidane threw a piece of splintered wood from himself, coughing as he struggled to see everyone around him. He was alive… That was already unbelievable enough. Could he hope for multiple more miracles for others to still be there with him?

For such an anti-climactical thing, it was sort of a scary situation. Sparks were continually flying from the control, and really the only thing visible in the room.

The blonde shook his head, and stood. As soon as he did so, he wished he hadn't. He stumbled back, holding his head, and suppressing a groan. He must have gone down _hard_ when they landed.

And then his thoughts finally triggered on his teammates. "Dagger!" He whispered in urgency, stumbling through the room, worry rising in his throat.

His feet pushed through the debris on the floor, and every time he hit another piece, he winced, fearing for the condition of the airship. The thief also admitted with a grimace that he probably stepped on someone in the process of getting to the door.

"Where are you…?" He mumbled to himself, pushing himself off of the doorway into the hall, glancing around. The door was sparking too, and he shook his head, wondering just how long it would take them to get back off the ground.

Fear ground into his stomach, and he had to clutch his midsection for a moment as his thoughts gnarled his stomach into a knot. If Kuja found out where they were and made it here fast enough… There'd be no escape…

They'd all be dead.

"Dagger!" He yelled.

Footsteps echoed from down the corridor, and he stepped forward, his hand against the wall. His leg was throbbing, and he couldn't see anything. "Dagger is that –"

A sharp, metallic sword was held to his throat.

The thief had been outsmarted by this threat, even before he'd had time to process that there was one. "Back away from the wall," the steely voice hissed.

He didn't move for a moment, still completely in awe of the situation. The sword pushed harder against his neck, and he instantly obliged. As soon as he was standing on his own, she roughly grabbed both of his hands in her one, and dropped her sword, sliding out a long piece of rope.

Kuja was already here? His forces had already touched Ipsen's castle? Zidane rolled his eyes – he couldn't be surprised… The damn guy had even gotten Conde Petie, and those were the most clueless people he'd ever met!

He took a moment to touch on this, waiting for her to wind the rope around his hands. And then, as nimbly as he could, he leapt, finding it was easy to jump over his hands, her, and tuck his arms around her waist, the restraint helping to keep him in place.

It was all so quick, she had to stumble to react, but the only thing she could do was struggle against his tight grip.

"Who are you?" He demanded.

Instead of answering with a name when the Genome really thought he had an upper hand, a sharp whistle pierced the air, and he was cringing (though not letting go of her) at the noise.

Before he knew it, five more people had their hands on him, yanking him around, and slamming him into the wall.

"Bring him outside with the others," she spat, turning on her heel and walking towards the central command of the ship.

It continually took these five guys to get him to cooperate, and they more dragged him than anything else. He made himself heavy in hopes of getting some sort of reaction, but he had to admit, he was impressed by the steady gaze forward they kept.

Once outside, his eyes finally started to adjust, and he lifted them, just in time to see Steiner punched in the gut. He immediately started to squirm, hoping to get free.

"Zidane!" His head whipped to the side, seeing Dagger pulling weakly at the two guards holding her to the spot, tears in her eyes.

He knew that if he showed anymore struggle, they might take it out on the girl, so he shot her a pleading look, and then kept his head straight forward. It seemed that most of the ship had already been evacuated, and that made the blonde wonder just how long that debris had him knocked out for.

There were only a few more people being filtered out – one of which being Marcus. He thrashed wildly, and there were even more people surrounding _him_ than Zidane. His legs bucked up like a horse, and his head whipped from side to side. His string of curses could be easily heard a while off.

The man who'd just been harassing Steiner moved briskly towards the Tantalus member. He mumbled something, and Marcus spit in his face. That earned a hard punch to the face that would have had him sprawling backwards had it not been for the many people trying to keep a hold of him.

But he kept his head high, eyes narrowed, always suspicious.

The blonde cursed silently in his head. They had the whole crew… The top two teams of the resistance, now in Kuja's clutches because of such a mistake…

He glanced up again, and saw Dagger staring at him, a sense of hopelessness in her eyes… So everyone else figured the same thing.

Zidane was about to let himself slump on the ground, before a woman walked up to him briskly, grabbing him under the jaw, but not quite choking him. She forced his head straight, his bored eyes locking with her angry ones.

"You said your name was Zidane?" She muttered at his face, a look of pure disgust in her expression.

If she was going to be a bitch, he was going to be an asshole right back. "Really, I never said anything… It was that –" She started to squeeze his neck, and her thick metal glove, he could feel, pierced into his skin slightly.

"Don't be a smart ass with me… You're in big trouble…" A wicked grin overtook her face. "You're going to die, Kuja scum!"

* * *

**A/N: Well how was that?! Did you like it?! :D Even though not a lot went on, I still enjoyed writing that one! I'm moving quickly now, thanks to those still supporting this story! :)**

**Please leave me some love, kittens!**

**Tried to edit, but not very good at it :P All mistakes are my own!**

**Also, in the works is my next Final Fantasy 9 story. I don't have a lot done yet, and obviously I don't have much of a plot at this time (when do I plan out anything anyways?) but if you're interested, and would like me to continue with this idea, let me know!**

**-zesty-**


	52. Chapter 51: Miscommunications

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 51: Miscommunications**

"_Don't be a smart ass with me… You're in big trouble…" A wicked grin overtook her face. "You're going to die, Kuja scum!"_

He froze, unable to be quite affected by her threat. It seemed like everyone else definitely was though, and there was a lot of chatter that suddenly arose around them.

"Shut up!" She barked, and there seemed to be some ounce of obedience. She let go of Zidane's neck with a jerk to the side, and his eyes trained on the grass. As she started some spiel about how she and her people weren't afraid of them, Zidane's sapphire eyes scanned the area.

It was all green and hilly, but from that, he couldn't see much else. There was a sort of haze that was settled here, and he wondered if it was just because of the damp morning, or if it was some sort of spell. The canyon was all around them, blocking them in, and their airship lay behind them, looking more pathetic than ever.

That's when something hit him.

"You said we were _Kuja_ scum?"

She whipped around, narrowing her eyes at him. "What do you have to say for yourself? Killing innocent people! Trying to get innocent people to do your work!"

His brows furrowed in anger, and he glared at her, making himself seem ten times taller than he actually was. "_You're_ the Kuja scum! I think you're pretty dense if you're getting us confused with your own men!"

Her eyes widened for a moment, before she settled back down. "You're lying."

"Why would I lie about being affiliated with that bastard?!" Zidane howled, tugging against his restraining hands.

"Let us explain why we're here!" Beatrix called out in desperation, and everyone could tell this wasn't the first time she'd said that. Apparently, the knight had come to the realization that these weren't Kuja's people before everyone else.

"You're here to capture our people! Use them as your sick, twisted _dreamers_, and to fight for you! _No!_ You will not take fathers and daughters and sons and wives and sisters and brothers away from each other! We will _fight_!"

Suddenly, Zidane had a grin on his face. This didn't go unnoticed from the woman. She unsheathed her sword, and pointed it right at his throat.

"What's. So. Funny?" She growled menacingly at him.

An eye patch covered one of her eyes with her jet black hair cropped at her chin. She was tall and built, though somehow still slim and kind of petite looking. She was dressed in a completely black suite. It looked almost like latex armor, suctioning to her skin, moving where she moved, and never letting a piece of her exposed.

"You aren't going to become a dreamer…"

Her face turned more suspicious when he uncovered the fact that he knew that word. "Why's that?" It seemed she was taking the chance to humor him.

"They're done with that phase… He's woken all of the dreamers up – fed them lies saying that everyone who fights against them burned their Alexandria –"

"Alexandria?" She questioned, looking away for a moment. She mumbled something to herself and then locked her eyes back on him. "Alexandria's been gone for _years_!"

"But the dreamers think it's only been gone for _one _year…"

"How would you know all this if you were not Kuja's scum?!" She demanded, "They trick us! We'll skip the torture! Just kill them all!"

"Wait!" The girl cried, and Zidane slowly closed his eyes. He had been wishing Dagger wouldn't get involved.

The woman sneered in her direction, but let her talk. Dagger tried to move forward, and glanced around at her guards. They decided there'd be too much at stake for her to try anything, so let go of her arms, and walked forward with her.

She sucked in a breath, knowing this was going to be a big leap. "My name…"

"Dagger!" Steiner yelled from somewhere in the back of the group. His eyebrows knit together. She couldn't reveal herself like this.

"My name is Garnet til Alexandros XVII… I'm the heir to the throne of late Alexandria…" She gestured around to the people she knew. "Adelbert Steiner – former Captain of the Pluto knights! Beatrix Vaylor – former Captain of the Rose Brigade! Sir Iron-Tail Fratley of the Bermecian Royal Guard!" Dagger glanced around, trying to find more formidable people with them.

Her eyes only landed on two. "And these are Zidane Tribal, and Vivi Ornitier… The two dreamers who awoke from Kuja's trance early, and made an escape…"

Needless to say, if the woman didn't believe them, she was at least _impressed_. She turned around, trying to find some sort of truth in the eyes of all these newcomers.

"I'll humor you," she spoke swiftly, turning towards Dagger, who after that stroke of confidence, shrank where she stood. "If these are who you say they are, who are the rest of these people?"

"We come from a resistance…" Zidane cut in, knowing that Dagger didn't want to speak anymore – she was just trying to save Zidane's life… His mind nagged at him that that wasn't going to work – he was going to die anyways – but he shoved that quickly out of his thoughts.

"A… resistance?"

"One last formidable stand against Kuja, to recapture Alexandria, and to purge our homes of his evil."

Again she circled, trying to find truth in each member's eyes. "Are you the leader then?" She questioned the blonde.

He shook his head. "I may be powerful…" He jerked his head over to Vivi, standing about ten feet to the left of him, "But my friend and I joined the resistance a little less than a year ago… This resistance has been alive for many years, lead behind the scenes, by Regent Cid Fabool IX…"

"Cid? He's alive?! How can this be?! Who is your leader?" The woman demanded, though more excitedly than anything else.

Zidane decided at this point, he wouldn't speak anymore. He didn't know exactly _who_ Dagger wanted people to think was the leader of this little infiltration, and he was still genuinely worried that they had revealed themselves to Kuja's lackies.

The raven haired girl stared up, her chocolate eyes wide as she gestured out, "I am the leader of this resistance…" She nodded, "But I am flanked by Beatrix and Steiner… They make most fighting decisions out on the field…"

The woman nodded, and turned slowly to a man standing rigidly behind her. She muttered something to him, and he stared at her in bewilderment for a moment, before nodding and jogging off.

She held up her hand, and then sliced it through the air quickly, and suddenly, Zidane was being jostled around again. "Hey! Back off!"

"Where are you taking them?!" Dagger demanded, stomping her foot. It seemed for the most part, the guards were leaving her alone.

They abandoned their hold and Steiner and Beatrix as well, shoving everyone else forward into the mist; the woman wouldn't answer any questions of where they were being taken.

"Dagger!" Zidane was shouting, thrashing about.

"Stupid kid…" One of his guards mumbled, and took two fingers, jabbing him in the back of the neck. Immediately, Zidane's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed limp on the ground. The other soldier with him hoisted him over his shoulder, and carried him the rest of the way out.

The raven haired girl went to follow, but the woman finally spoke again.

"They're going to be fine…"

"What did you do with them?!"

The woman shook her head, dismissing it quickly as Beatrix and Steiner raced to the girl's side.

"They're being held in our stronghold until I can decipher what to do with you all… But first we must talk."

"I've revealed much information to you already," Dagger decided, standing a little straighter and feeling a little more confident with her two superiors behind her, "and you haven't even told me your name."

"Lysandra," she spoke curtly, as though the younger girl had personally offended her. "Tell me why you're here."

Dagger was about to protest, but Beatrix put a hand on her shoulder, and pulled her back protectively, so her whole arm was around the girl. Steiner stepped forward and sighed. "I know that we do not have much to go off of, and I understand that we're invading _your_ home…"

She stuck her nose up in the air, indicating that he was right so far.

"But we mean no harm."

"How can I trust you? You've brought an army with you!"

"No… at least, not for you… You see… Our rebellion has a plan. We think we can overtake Kuja and his army if we rally the world together to fight him."

"What are you talking about?"

"We flew in from the Outer Continent just southeast of Conde Petie."

"What?!" She gasped, dropping her guarded wall. "Why have you come so far for just _us_?!"

"We're making trips everywhere… We want to get everyone together – to train and group… We've got everything from mages to warriors to paramedics to clothing makers with us… helping us – in any way that they can… We'll make one final march on Alexandria, and take him down."

"That won't work…"

"What won't work about it?!" He demanded, narrowing his eyes. "Or do you just fear the unknown?!"

"I am no coward!" She yelled at him, but then stood straight again, pushing the hair out of her eyes. "You think people will risk their lives –"

"They already have!" Dagger told her, exasperated. "We've rallied citizens from Terra… My uncle has four airships now… he's sending out teams to each populated location in the world – spread out on all four continents. Terra was our test ground, and to steal a ship from Kuja…"

"You stole a ship from Kuja?!" The woman stumbled back, obviously unable to wrap her head around such ideas.

Steiner motioned to Dagger to allow him to take over. "I know it's overwhelming… But our resistance is far more powerful than you might believe. After we leave here, we'll go to Bermecia and Dali, Treno and Lindblum, and I know we won't be alone… People will fight, because Terra was our test run."

"So why have you brought so many if you're telling the truth?" She raised her eyebrow, skeptical.

"Incase we were to run into any of Kuja's soldiers, we'd be able to get around them with no casualties… His forces are not around these areas –" his hand waved out in front of him, "- obviously, you have that mostly covered."

She smirked a little, probably from pride, and puffed out her chest just a tiny bit. "So we've come to an agreement then, that you and I are not enemies…"

Steiner straightened a little, and took one small step protectively in front of the other two. "We have agreed that either I nor you work for Kuja… And that's all the further this assessment has gone…"

There was a strong silence for a moment, while both sized the other up, until Lysandra burst into laughter. It was hearty – kind of masculine, but all three could tell it was because she'd had to keep her guard up for so many years.

"I'll tell you what, Steiner of the Pluto Knights –" Beatrix rolled her eyes. Sometimes that man could make his squad out to be so fantastic, when really, it was full of a bunch of slacking duds. "- you may stay for awhile, and rally who you'd like… We will not harm you, and we will not harm any of your friends…" She gestured to their ship, "It seems you'll need a place to stay, and we can accommodate for that…"

"Really?" Beatrix asked, shaking her head. "That's… more than we could ask for…"

"If what your people say is true, then we have no reason to stop your advances in halting Kuja's power… We would be delighted to help… But I feel before many of us can make a decision, I must grant you the power to roam and get to know people yourself, while we get to know you…"

"We wouldn't want it any other way…" Dagger nodded, and bowed slightly to her. "Thank you…"

The woman smiled a little, a flutter of hope igniting in her chest. Could these young people do what she failed to do, so many years ago?

* * *

Zidane groaned and rolled over. "That was the weirdest dream –" suddenly, his heart leapt into his throat, and his eyes fluttered open.

He was in a strange, unfamiliar place that was dark, and maybe a little hazy. But soon, his eyes locked onto something comforting.

"You're awake!" Dagger smiled at him, her eyes bright, and her voice chipper.

"What happened?"

"You were kinda…" She thought about the way to put the order of events, "Kicking and struggling too much, so in order to get you where they needed you to be, they used pressure points on you…"

Zidane rubbed the back of his neck bitterly. "I noticed…" He grumbled.

"Don't be such a grump!" She decided, crossing her arms.

He raised an eyebrow, "_I'm_ the grump? Okay Miss _I-don't-want-to-talk-to-you-because-you-want-to-save-lives_!" He grinned, but that happy expression faltered when her eyes set downcast. "I'm sorry…" He mumbled, looking away.

She grabbed his hand quickly, bringing it to her cheek. "It's alright…" Closing her eyes, she listened to his breath for a moment, before speaking. "I think that you should get some more rest."

"What? Why?"

"It's dark now, and they don't want us to be out there in the dark…"

"Why?"

"You might slip and fall…"

"I'm being serious, Dagger…" Zidane rolled his eyes, tugging out of her grasp and sitting up on the side of the bed. He rubbed his head, trying to get the swimming vision to go away.

He stood up, regardless, and began walking across the room. He knew she was right up after him in a second. "So am I, Zidane!" She told him forcefully.

He stopped for a moment, but didn't look at her. Slowly, he turned towards the girl with a raised eyebrow. "Show me…"

She sighed, "We could get in trouble…" She laced her hands together and scuffled her feet across the floor. That's when he realized that it was stone… so was the wall – all the walls actually! And the ceiling and –

"You gotta relax sometime, Dagger, I'm sneaky!" He took her hand and pulled her close to him. "… And I _live_ for trouble…" He purred in her ear.

Tingles shot down her spine, and she allowed him to lead her out of the room. The girl's mind touched briefly on the fact that if he were ever trying to lure her into a different situation – with that voice, it would probably work…

He laughed, breaking her from her thoughts. "Are you going to show me, or are you going to let me fall?"

"I would never…" She smiled, pulling ahead of him, and carefully opening the door. "So we have to –" She turned around in a full circle spin, confusion growing on her face. "Zidane?"

Suddenly, a hand caught her arm and soon her feet were dangling off the ground. Her mouth was covered so she wouldn't scream, but that didn't stop her from struggling.

"Dagger!" He laughed quietly, "Dagger, it's me… Sneaky, right?"

The princess glanced down, and saw that they were about seven feet off the floor – on the ceiling. Then she turned back to him, gawking. "How did you –" She gripped him tighter in fear of falling.

"I'm just sneaky…" He answered simply, dropping back down to the ground with her in his arms.

She shook her head. No matter how long she knew him, or how close they got, he would still never cease to amazing and or shock her.

"This thing you're supposed to be showing me?" He grinned when she jumped for the umpteenth time that night.

"R-right…" She mumbled something incoherent while leading him down the hall.

"You might want to stop muttering, they could hear you –"

"Shh!" She barked at him, glaring. He laughed again, this time, a little louder. "Take your own advice!" She snapped at him.

Zidane had forgotten how often he enjoyed pushing her buttons. They were basically flashing neon buttons, considering how easy it was to irritate her. But the walls weren't windy and pretty straight forward. Sure, a right here, or a left there, but it was all very neatly cut, each hall running perpendicular to another in some way.

"There…" They came suddenly to a ledge, and if she hadn't said anything, he would have walked right off.

"Wha –" His eyes cast out upon the field. The blonde spotted their fallen airship, still smoking in the distance. His eyes grew in size as the wind howled against the stone rock of the canyon – the rock they were standing _in_. "I don't believe this…"

She pointed to a narrow ledge just off to their right, "You see why they couldn't have you kicking and screaming the whole way? It's very dangerous… That's why they don't want people out at night…"

"So there are _more_ of these tunnels?!"

It was her turn to grin at him. "Genius, right?" She gestured all along the canyon barriers. "They're actually all over, but you can't see them at all!" She took both of her gloved hands, and turned him so his body was facing hers.

He could feel the cold, brisk wind nipping at his back, and he shuttered. The girl in front of him didn't seem phased that they stood on an edge that would surely end their lives if there was one minor slip up.

"They're like us… All these people live in the canyon to avoid detection of a big village…" She shook her head, "Kuja hasn't bothered trying to get by the mountain, because he's spotted no civilization dwelling within the valley!"

"That's…" Zidane had to think about it for a moment, "That's insane!" He knew it wasn't a very appropriate word for such a masterpiece, but that's all he could think of.

He glanced at the girl, who set her gaze upon the rest of the field. From here, though the haze still covered the other half, one could see the foggy outline of the other side. The blonde wondered if any of their friends and comrades were being held over there.

But the longer he stared at the girl, the more thoughts melted away from his conscious mind. Her hair wavered in the wind, and her cheeks were bright pink on porcelain skin against the chilling cold. But her ruby lips were quirked up, and her eyes sparkled with more hope and excitement than he'd seen in a _long_ time.

He took her hand then without saying anything, hoping not to spoil the moment. But they stood there, staring over this vast area of lush, emerald grass together, both wishing the moment would never end.

* * *

"What do you know?"

"How do I know… you're going to keep the people safe that I want safe…"

Kuja raised his eyebrow, "Oh? So you have thought about the affects your little exchange might have on the other people…"

"I only want you to have Zidane…" He growled, trying to sound menacing, even though he was the one in the chair.

"So he's alive?"

"You knew that."

Kuja's eyes narrowed. If he was being honest with himself, no matter how much everyone who witnessed the battle tried to convince him otherwise, that wretched brat _wasn't_ dead. He could just feel it… In the pit of his stomach, there was something rising – and Zidane was the middle of it.

If he was going to play his cards right, taking Bronson's offer would be the smart thing to do… Get the information on Zidane, kill _only_ Zidane – with the other dreamer brat as a casualty of course – and wipe everyone else out with his hand-selected army.

His lips curled up into a smile. Did he _ever_ love that idea. Kill only one, and have the rest of his profitable army do the rest of the dirty work? The idea was sounding more appealing every second.

"I've always been a man of my word…"

Bronson raised a suspicious eyebrow. He watched Rendell get completely frozen over by one of Kuja's spells – unsure now if he wanted to say anything to the man or not. Darious was going to be next soon, if Bronson didn't hurry it up… Not that he particularly cared for these men, but it would be a bit of an inconvenience.

"How can I trust you?"

"You're idea of killing _only_ Zidane sounds appealing to me…" His eyes seemed to sparkle, and the outline of his make up made him look all the more hideous.

"Why?"

He shook his head, unsure of how to answer with Elouise in the room. Telling him the truth – the most believable thing – would mean letting his whole story slip… the whole reason the dreamers were fighting with him. If they were to find out he was the reason Alexandria had fallen, and so many died… Well… They wouldn't be very happy.

Elouise leaned against the window support, staring at the confrontation in front of her. Her emerald eyes set on Bronson's facial expressions as she waited for Kuja's answer. His plan was strange… It made sense – Zidane tried to kill him in Terra… She knew about personal revenge… But it was still weird that he would only want to kill Zidane… nobody else?

A part of her, no matter how much she wanted to admit it, was relieved he was alive. If _only_ she could talk some sense into him… If only she could make him see that he was being treacherous, and hopefully beg Kuja to forgive him, so they could go back to the way things were…

After that day in Alexandria that he had passed out… after that day he had hugged Elouise while she cried for his safety… after that day that he _promised_ he would stay with her… She didn't see him again. A few hours later when she went to check on her best friend, there were mages standing outside his house, and a bunch of government officials.

"_What happened?! Why are you here?!"_ She remembered demanding, storming up to the guards. The mages didn't answer, and the men inside the house didn't even stop to look at her. Her frustrations flared, and punched one of the mages as hard as she could.

It reacted in such a way that still made her hand tingle. The mage, still with its blank eyes, shot a fire ball at her. She leapt out of the way, pure shock covering her face. Her knuckles were singed, and she absent mindedly rubbed her other hand on top of them.

There should have been a scar still – but Kuja had healed them all and protected them all when Alexandria fell under attack.

The men finally stared up at her, irritated. _"What are you doing here little girl? Don't you see we're busy?"_

"_Where's Zidane?!" She demanded, her eyes brimming with tears._

"_You mean the kid that was inside this house?" He put on a sad expression and shook his head. "They shipped him to Lindblum not even an hour ago… He needed medical treatment bad – he was dying…"_

_Her breath hitched in her throat. "But I just talked to him… Not even three hours ago…"_

"_That's the sad thing about sicknesses like his… They just creep up on you. It's a shame nobody reported any signs about him earlier…"_

_Her heart sunk, knowing that they barely ever got any news from Lindblum – not even Avalanch's mother had anything to say most of the time…_

"_No…"_

_No, no no! She clutched her head, squeaking her eyes shut. It couldn't be real… it couldn't be real… he couldn't just leave her and… and _die!

"_No…"_

No…! What was she saying? What was she thinking? Zidane had to pay for his mistakes… But did she have the strength to watch him die? Elouise narrowed her eyes. He had been part of the horrible raid that had killed Vienna and Griffon – two of her best friends… He had been part of what had slaughtered her homeland… He would pay.

She finally snapped back into reality, and when she did, Bronson was dishing out his information.

"… they were aiming for the Forgotten Continent –"

"Overseas again?" Kuja leaned closer and narrowed his eyes, "You lie…"

"It's no lie… It was Zidane's idea himself… And they'll come back here too… It was a top secret mission, so they couldn't share where they were going with many people… not until they're back, but I know almost for sure that they'll be back on the Mist Continent… That would be your prime time to strike him down… He wants as much in this war as he can take…"

"How do I know you aren't lying to me?"

"I wouldn't be here, if I didn't want Zidane to be killed…"

Elouise's nose scrunched up, and she had to turn away from the scene. No matter what her feelings were on the subject, and even if Zidane wasn't involved… Boy was this asshole low – exchanging the people he had wanted to fight with, because of a petty reason such as dislike? She rubbed at her eyes, truly wondering what Kuja was going to say after Bronson had been shipped off…

Surely he'd have all three executed, and if not… He'd send only one back with a message… She rolled her eyes. They had to be complete idiots to come here…

She turned back to Bronson, watching his face for more information.

"Will the Princess be with them?"

The man's face became hard, his eyes puckering ever so slightly. He answered with the perfect timing of the truth, but she knew from the way his skin tensed around his eyes, that he was lying.

"No."

"Tsk, tsk… It seems we'll have to be after her in a different way –"

"No!" Bronson struggled, his eyes becoming hard and a snarl released from his throat. "You promised me you'd only kill Zidane!"

"But my dear boy, the Princess has the Eidolons _I_ need…" Of course the princess wasn't the first on his target list… He was far more interested in killing the rogue dreamers right now – the Princess could always be found with a bit of digging… He was simply hoping to get more information out of the man.

And it worked. "She's got this affect on people!" The words stumbled out of his mouth.

"What?" Kuja asked, irritation flooding his tone.

"They'll listen to her… You might not even have to slaughter the rest of the rebellion… She'd make them stay in line… You could set her up as a fake ruler… You could use her as a puppet… She'd be good at it – there would be no more uprisings…"

Kuja rolled his eyes, though made sure he was facing the opposite direction. This man was a fool. No Princess trying to reclaim her kingdom would step down… unless she was desperate…

Unless…

"Do you have anything else to report to me?"

Bronson shook his head, "That's everything I know…"

Elouise raised an eyebrow at her leader, silently asking him what he'll do.

He gestured to Darius and Rendell – one still frozen, and the other one quivering to death. "Kill them." They howled, trying to plead their case, but he ignored them completely. "Accommodate to Bronson's needs…" He grinned wickedly, "In the dungeon!" Kuja made a quick retreat from his office, hoping to get away from the obnoxious pleas for mercy. "Lock him up!" He bellowed in his final words.

Elouise smirk widened as her eyes locked on the three men in front of her… Things were going according to plan…

* * *

**A/N: Well I hope you liked that one!**

**I'm just going to say here, for anyone who reads the author's notes… WOW… I've started rereading this story, because honestly, I don't remember a lot of it, and there are a few things that I go back and relearn while rereading…**

**I'm so sorry for all of the grammatical errors in my writing, spelling mistakes, overuse of words, kind of confusing descriptions, and the fact that I change some things from earlier chapters because I don't remember that I said them.**

**Hopefully, when I'm all done with this story, I'll be able to go back and edit everything – making it all smooth and fitting :) However that probably won't be for awhile, so for now, I just really wanted to apologize.**

**I hope you're still enjoying and thank you for sticking with me!**

**-zesty-**


	53. Chapter 52: Blast from the Past

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 52: Blast from the Past**

"Are you sure you really want to just _let them in_ like this?!" The man threw his hands up in the air and continued his pacing. His large, heavy boots clomped against the ground, shaking the table and rattling the dish she was currently seated in front of.

Closing her eyes slowly, then reopening them and pristinely picking up her cup, she took a feminine sip before setting it back down. He narrowed his eyes – he hated when she got all prude because she was acting superior.

"Nathan, you need to trust me… There's a reason we've been able to hide for fourteen years since the war _started_." She annunciated 'started' crisper than her other words, pursing her lips at him, eyebrows furrowed.

"Lysandra, these people could still be _dangerous_!"

"There is no way that every single one of these people fabricated the same lie…"

"Unless they talked to each other all before they left!"

"Please," she waved her hand in the air, taking another delicate sip and over-exaggeratingly crossing her legs, "as if Kuja's army was really smart enough to do that."

"Some of them are! You heard about those guys in gold with the white chocobos who run around like their fucking hot shit! Some of them are genuinely dangerous! We need to be careful!"

She raised an eyebrow at him, her lips still pursed. Then she leaned forward before she slammed a hand down on the table. "Do any of them wear gold? Did you see any white chocobos stored in their ship?" Then she leaned back, a cocky expression overtaking her face as she puffed out her chest, "There were no lies in Dagger's eyes… Nor Steiner's, nor Beatrix's, nor Zidane's… Therefore, you should trust me. You've done so thus far, and haven't died yet, correct?"

"Are you just going to _let_ them walk into Ipsen's castle and nose around?! Are you going to show them every secret to our location?! Hell, are you going to tell them about the mi-"

"_Enough_!" She snapped, and wisely, his mouth clamped shut. "If they discover Ipsen's castle nestled in the mist, _let_ them go in… If they make it all the way through – great… we share more secrets. If they _don't_ then they can rot away in the dungeon below, or even get lost –_ I don't care_. What I care about, is doing anything I can to help people who are serious about taking on Kuja… You do not get much more serious than an ex princess who has a couple of ex-knights, a Regent uncle, and two dreamers saddled on with her! I even hear they've got some black _magic_ users… Nathan – someone could finally upgrade _my spells_!"

"Is that all you care about?" He snapped, "Personal gain? Sandra, people might die!"

"You're being overdramatic, Nathan," She scoffed at him, rolling her eyes and taking a sip out of the crystal glass.

"You're being ridiculous!" He threw his hands up again, but refused to walk out on their fight.

She sucked the inside of her cheek for a moment, debating on what she was going to do. "I'll make you a deal…"

"Oh here we go," he mumbled, slouching.

"Do you want to listen? Or _not_?" Again, she made 'not' crisper than everyone else, her head tilting with impatience. She stood, her chair scraping back on the stone floor. "Because I could let them have free reign if you'd like, that's really no problem for me…"

His whole body slouched after that, and he turned to her, desperate. "Yes, I'm listening."

"We'll tell them the rumor about Ipsen's castle…"

"But that's not –"

"I _know_," She hissed at him, louder than their conversation called for. "I'll tell them the common knowledge about Ipsen's… And by natural curiosity, they'll venture in."

"So? You're going to send their whole little gang in?"

"Goodness, no!" She put her finger tips to her chest, and let out a small, arrogant laugh. "Do you think I'm dense, Nathan?" She rolled her eyes, flipping her dark hair away from her face, "We'll direct their most elite people into the castle… Simply put, if they never come out, more will go looking for them, and slowly their numbers will dwindle. The rest will either leave, or not know what the fuck to do and be stranded here with us… We don't have to _kill_ them! Just let nature take its course, Dear."

He sighed. He couldn't find anything _wrong_ with his leader's plan, but he felt like they were leaving a lot up to chance. "But what if –"

"Na-ah!" She barked at him, glaring, "Like I said… This deal is for the benefit to you. While I could care less if they are here or not, I do _not_ believe they are bad people… I'm testing this because you're paranoid, otherwise I would give them free reign just by going off their word. This many people do not travel this far just to kill others… It's not in Kuja's nature… We know – we've been tracking his nature for fourteen years."

He shook his head and stared at her. "I hope you're right about this one, Lysandra… We don't want a repeat of last time."

Her eyes narrowed, and her hands slammed down on the table where she had taken a seat again. She shot up from the chair and it clattered backwards. "You listen to me! You don't like how I run things, than get the fuck out!"

He turned around again and marched out, his combat boots still rattling her cup on the table.

Her tongue slid across her teeth as she glared daggers at the wall. Without another word, she strode out of the room as well, leaving whatever she was doing abandoned on the table.

* * *

"Ipsen's castle… We did intend to come here looking for that yes… But that's because we thought you'd be taking shelter _in_ the castle, rather than _around_ it…" Steiner nodded, folding his hands on the splintered oak table in front of him.

"You know the stories of Ipsen's castle, don't you?"

"Stories?" Zidane tilted his head, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward so his elbows were on his knees. "What kind of stories?"

"Stories that revolve around _anything_ dwelling on the Forgotten Continent are like…" Lysandra thought for a moment, crossing her arms in front of her chest, "Horror stories for everywhere else…"

"Oh…" Zidane mumbled, leaning back in his chair. "Well that's settling…" The woman only gave him a challenging grin.

"Stories involve food?" Quina's hungry eyes never left the woman, and she had to say, under that flower-shaped iris of a stare, she felt more uncomfortable then scaling the stone walls of their makeshift home at night.

"None of these horror stories," She told the Qu, then straightened and turned, throwing a glance over her shoulder with another one of her mysterious smirks, "At least not yet."

"We make them?"

"Probably not," Zidane told Quina, shaking his head. Leave it to the Qu to make a completely serious conversation a little less creepy.

"So what is the _real_ story, behind Ipsen's castle?" Marcus asked, leaning against the wall with one hand. "I mean, you guys have been living next to it for who knows how long… I'm sure you know…"

She tossed her hands up in an 'I don't know' gesture. "Your guess is as good as mine. We might be stealthy and exquisite fighters but we are no fools… People don't venture into Ipsen's palace unless they're searching for a death wish."

"Has it always been that way?" Freya asked, tilting her head to the side. She was seated on a chair, elbow on the table, chin in her palm, legs crossed. One hand absent mindedly clawed at the table lightly, only making light-colored scratch marks.

Lysandra shrugged, "I mean sure, some people have tried… Some people have tried _everything_ don't you think? But we've never seen them again."

"Pleasant…" Blank mumbled, sitting up straighter. "Okay, so what's the standard story if you don't have a real one?" He glanced at Zidane, hoping to get the story straight for him and Vivi.

"Ipsen… Where he is now is beyond me… He was a grand explorer… The only person ever known to get across these canyon walls without an airship or a chocobo…" She smirked, "But I think personally, he cheated, and really did have a chocobo, though everyone claims the world was too new for any of those giant chickens to be mature enough to ride…"

"Aaanyways," Marcus reminded her, shifting so his back was against the wall.

She stared at him for a moment, before turning away. "Right," she drew it out a little, and turned around, another testing expression sweeping over her facial features. "He discovered the Castle – lost in the midst of the mist… For days he traveled with no sense of direction… But the man was smart, and when he saw shelter he took it… The Castle was mostly deserted. There were a few people inhabiting it, saying their King died long ago, but they simply didn't have anywhere else to go…" She shrugged.

"They took him in with open arms as he showered them with his stories of other – better worlds… But something they hadn't been exposed to was war and death and bloodbaths… They begged Ipsen to stay – to lead them, and to make this region better, _happier…_ And so he did… Oh and how wonderful they made it. He challenged all remarkable swordsmen, magic users, and bandits to stay with him the castle – challenging their wit, common sense, instincts, and physical stature…

"People wished to stay… Soon comrades turned into lovers, and lovers into families, and the stone walls began being shoveled out, little by little, to make a hidden village, ruled by the honorable Ipsen…"

"So what makes this place so creepy and bad?" Zidane asked, glancing around at the others' faces. Though they'd heard the tale many times before – never was it in such depth… Never had it been so intriguing – the simple, well-known story of Ipsen.

"One of his challengers – a spell caster from far away – who we think descended from the elemental shrines of the world, _failed_ Ipsen's challenge. All before him from the shrines had prospered in this land, and _he_ failed? He couldn't accept it… So he cursed the castle, and the region around it.

"The whole valley was plunged into a dense mist – not just the morning mist that Ipsen had traveled through in his early days here, no – it was a blizzard of clouds… And on the castle itself, he turned logic into nonsense, and what was once strong, became _very_ weak…"

"_Do not be restricted by your knowledge and experience. This place turns logic upside down. What's big is small, what's strong is weak, and heaven is earth…" _Steiner quoted, looking up. "That's the word of the castle, right?"

She nodded, "A brave explorer after Ipsen made it here – one of the only to do so after the mist… We greeted him many years ago… We begged such a fine man to stay. The first night he went into just the entry way of the castle and came out the next morning, bearing these words… He wrote a letter, with these words enclosed, and shipped it off to his family – his three sons a long time ago…"

Steiner nodded, "And he was never seen again?"

She shook her head and narrowed his eyes. "Why do you speak as though you know the story?"

He sighed, "It's nothing."

"If you want help in accessing Ipsen's castle –"

"We don't need to anymore," Steiner snapped, rubbing his temples.

"Secrets will not help your rebellion's cause here…" She needed to know… That man… that story – nobody knew it… Nobody but _her_ and –

"He was my father…" He stood up and shook his head, briskly walking out of the room.

Everyone was just as shocked as Lysandra. "What?" She whispered, staring after the man. Nobody _ever_ heard about Steiner's past, and if Beatrix hadn't grown up in Alexandria – the same place as he – she wouldn't even know… This was one of those pieces of information he never exposed about himself – even to her.

After that, the meeting was wrapped up quickly. A group would take them into the mist to find Ipsen's castle in just a few hours, and only the very best were going to go… Beatrix could hardly pay attention to what the woman was saying, and who was responding with what. Steiner's father? He had been here? And he went into that castle to _never_ be seen again…

The woman was anxious to get up and find him – be there for him if he needed her. She bit her lip and gnawed on it, unsure of what to do. What _could_ she do? Steiner was being pulled to a place where his father went, and never came home… And she hadn't a clue if the man was nervous or upset…

As soon as she saw Zidane hop up and stretch, she bolted from her chair and ran from the hall. She figured that he'd be outside, not wanting to be stuffed up in these now-suffocating tunnels.

She searched and searched, but for the life of her, couldn't find Steiner. Eventually, she made it to an on-ground training yard, and saw him. His armor was off, and he was wearing every day clothing. She scrunched her face… His hair seemed shorter, and this man seemed less muscular, his stature slouched with stress.

"Steiner!" She put a hand on his shoulder and whipped him around, but was startled when the glaring eyes met hers.

"I'm not who you're looking for," He snarled at her.

She recoiled with shock and blinked at him. "_Excuse me_," she began in a ruder tone than he'd just used. What was this guy's problem? "I'm sorry, my mistake."

He sized her up, glancing at her up and down, "Yes, _your_ mistake."

"What's your problem?" She asked him, taking another step back and pushing her hair over her shoulder.

"You're mighty confident for being a newcomer," He snarled. She couldn't help but notice he just sounded so much like Steiner.

She stood back up straight after naturally sliding into a defensive battle stance. "Do you know who it is I seek?"

He scoffed, "I know. Doesn't mean I know where he is…"

She narrowed his eyes, "You know that name… _Steiner_… But not just for the individual man…"

"You're smart," he crossed his eyes, his tone a little more friendly (really just a little), and a smile actually cracking out onto his face. "I can see why he likes you."

She looked away for a moment, trying to regain control of the situation. "What does the name mean to you?" She demanded.

He rolled his eyes, "You're so much like him. So ill tempered and mistrusting…"

"I could say the same to you," She glared, huffing and crossing her arms in front of her. "You sound related…"

"Nothing more than a distant memory…" He grumbled, but it wasn't for her ears. Unfortunately, Beatrix was a _very_ keen listener.

"Cousins?" She ventured, stepping closer and peering at his turned face, her hair falling over her shoulder. "Or maybe…" She stopped when she realized she hit the nail on the head. "Brothers…"

He turned to look at her fully now. "It's been a _very_ long time, Beatrix…"

She gasped, putting an armored hand to her face, honey-golden eyes glinting with shock. "Nathaniel?"

"I go by Nathan now, but yeah, basically…"

"I – but you – and he – Steiner did –" She sucked in a breath, "_How are you here?_ Steiner said you disappeared long ago!"

"Yeah… I did… I left Alexandria and went on with my life – exploring…"

Suddenly his exploration clicked with the news she'd just learned about his father. "Not exploring… Searching…"

"What's it to you?" He snapped.

"I just found out… Nathan I –" she put a hand on his arm, but then stopped, and let it slide away. "I'm so sorry… I never knew… He just told us…"

There was silence as Nathan turned and walked away, staring out into the deep mist in front of them. "These things are no longer mine to tell you… You are not my confidant anymore, Beatrix… We're passed that stage…"

"Nathaniel… You left… I was –"

"Go from one to the other, huh? The older brother turns you down, so you run to the youngest?" He smirked bitterly for a moment, "Tell me, how intimate are you two?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Why are you doing this? We've only just arrived and –"

"Brought back too many unwanted memories… Don't you feel it B?! We're spiraling eight years into the past! It's the complicated love triangle of Adelbert, Beatrix, and Nathaniel all over again! I ran away to find answers from my father – I ran away because I couldn't _bear_ losing you in your stubborn pursuit of knighthood, and I couldn't bear the fact that with each and every battle you and my brother came home from, you grew closer…"

She straightened, putting on a hard mask that he wasn't familiar with. "I've got to find Steiner… We have a mission to discuss…" She grumbled, her voice wavering and cracking on the last stretch of the sentence. She turned around hurriedly and swiftly walked away. When she thought she was a far enough distance away, she broke into a sprint.

"You shouldn't have said that…" Stepping out from the shadows was none other than Adelbert Steiner himself.

"What? Been honest with her?"

"You're the one setting it in Lysandra's mind that we're Kuja's men, aren't you?"

He turned away. "I have to protect these people…"

"But you _know_ Beatrix and me… You know both of us –"

"I _knew_ you! I don't anymore…"

"Why? That's all I want to know, and then I'll walk away forever… I won't even mention you to anyone…"

"Why?" He threw a wry glance over his shoulder at his younger brother, "That could be in reference to many things." Steiner didn't answer him.

"Why did I leave? You heard my spew to Beatrix just moments ago… Why am I making you out to be the enemy?" It took him a moment to sift through his thoughts – say the right words to answer. "I thought you and Beatrix died a long time ago… Lysandra wasn't lying to you when she said that she wasn't aware of another big resistance…" He gestured to their surroundings. "We don't exactly get a lot of information flow…"

His brother stepped closer to him, and looked down at him. "But if the stories about your resistance are true… If you are really in the company of two Dreamers – one of which defied Kuja in the way of stealing his _ship_... You're a walking target…" He shook his head, "How do you expect me to welcome you with open arms into a world I've made my own?! In a world where I don't have all the muddy problems of resistance leaving tracks all over me?! We help, and we would eventually make a stand to Kuja, but we don't track mud all over our reputation – we hide in the shadows! Something your resistance doesn't do very well since you've gained new company…"

"What are you saying?" Steiner demanded quietly, ominously.

"I'm saying I have a big fear that you're going to trek trouble into my home… You come here, and Kuja is right after you! Your entrance wasn't exactly nimble and stealthy!" He threw his hand out, gesturing in the general direction of their fallen airship. "If he comes in here, let's face it, he'd slaughter us all! I will not let you fools ruin everything for us, if I can help it!"

"_But you can't_ _help it_!" Steiner shot back quickly. "Just because you are my brother –" the word felt foreign to both of them, "- and just because you know Beatrix from the past… the past in which you were _part_ of our resistance – does not mean that you can control what we do! You cannot stop us from finding people to help fight!"

Nathan was quiet, his eyes trained on his brother's matching orbs. "I will not fight with you."

"I don't ask you to…" Steiner shook his head, "I never once in all our times together, have asked you to fight with me… All through my training I never asked you to join me… All through my time as a Captain I never asked you to train under me… All of _our_ time in the resistance, not _once_ did I usher you to pick up a sword to fight for me, while all the people surrounding us tried to prod you into it! Do not _feed _me to the dogs simply because you will _not fight with me_!"

The man stepped back from Steiner's face. "I can't let you take my family away from me…"

"Nathaniel don't you understand…" He shook his head, and suddenly the sadness that had been looming over them settled around them, surrounding the tension. "If we don't do this… If Kuja is not defeated… Your family will be taken away from you regardless of who you consider a part of it. Myself, or Lysandra, or anyone else here you share a great bond with… Everyone will be gone…"

Steiner had grown up. Even at thirty years old, he was more mature, and more in-tune with the world than his thirty-five year old brother was… Nathaniel had always tried to deny it… He always tried to set his interests into other things so that Steiner couldn't outshine him with his intelligence… And yet here they were… Eight years of running only showered him with the knowledge that Steiner had done nothing but advance in his absence.

"I have to go…" Was all the man said, before he fled the training grounds, leaving Steiner alone once more…

* * *

(A/N: That was wayyy too much fun to write!)

"Hey! It's definitely past the fifteen minutes you promised me and basically I'm here to say: are you ready to…" He trailed off upon entering the room, seeing her sitting in the chair, staring into space. "go?" he mumbled quietly. "Dagger? What's up?"

She glanced up, and smiled when she saw the redhead. "Hello Blank…"

"What are you doing sitting here all by yourself? Don't you want to go into the creepy castle we might never come out of? Is that why? Are you afraid?"

She shook her head. "Actually, this isn't about the Castle at all…" She stared at him for a moment, before dropping her gaze to watch her gloved hands wring each other out. "I'm worried for Steiner…"

Blank scoffed, though not in a nasty way. "You're worried about _him_?! Dagger, come on… We're about to go on a suicide mission into a weird castle, and you're worried about the guy who –"

"You don't understand…" She mumbled. "Steiner's whole family is gone…" She shook her head. "He doesn't know if any of his family members – his older brother, or his father – are still even _alive_… He doesn't have contact with any of them… This must be really hard on him…"

"Doesn't have contact? Doesn't he want it?"

"He doesn't try to seek them out to keep them safe, wherever they are… To come to the place that his father disappeared…" She shook her head. "I knew he had gone away but… I had no idea that one of our mission spots was such a haunting place for Steiner…"

Blank sighed and squatted down in front of her. "He's going to be fine, Dagger… You'll see…" He wobbled a little bit, trying to get a better look at her face.

She smiled and kicked her leg up gently, knocking him onto his butt. "Hey now!"

"Oops," she giggled.

"What else is bothering you?"

She shook her head, "It doesn't bother you that Zidane could die? This could be the place, Blank…"

"Man you are worried about everyone today, Princess…" He teased with a grin. He knew it wouldn't help, but he found her thoughts kind of amusing. These people knew how to take care of themselves… "Of course… I know Zidane's chances aren't very good, but I was faced with checking for his heartbeat after Terra… I was the one who didn't hear it, and crawled away from my best friend's lifeless form –"

"Stop!" She demanded of him, not wanting those images going through her head. Her hands flew to her ears, blocking out the sound until his voice went away.

"Anyways…" He coughed and cleared his throat, stretching his legs in front of him. His emerald eyes traveled around the room; it was a pretty drab place, with even less light than decoration. No wonder why the raven haired girl was depressed. "What I mean is – I was faced with it once… And he pulled through. While I understand the risks that a second big mission like this holds… I know to expect a little more from him…" He stood abruptly, offering a hand. "While I know his chances aren't good, and these might be the last days I get with him… It won't be here… His death will be much more dramatic… He's an actor for crying out loud! You should have seen him in Terra!"

She laughed at this. Though she wondered if the redhead was being one-hundred percent truthful, she knew that he was making the situation better. Truth be told, she _did _feel little better about the problem after his couple of jokes.

He lead her out of the room, and she watched his body language as she shuffled along behind him. His demeanor had totally changed in the past year. Through finding his best friend, through losing Dali, to discovering Terra, to _losing_ his best friend, and then finding him again… Everything that he'd been through – you'd think would have broken him down into a shattered shell… An echo of what he'd been before…

But if anything, she believed that the guy had actually brightened. There was a little more purpose in his light footsteps, and a little more fun in his glaring expressions. And she knew, even though Blank was the only one she'd analyzed, that _everyone_, including herself, had changed, since Vivi and Zidane's arrival…

And whether they wanted it to be or not, it was for the better…

* * *

**A/N: So there is absolutely nothing else I love more, than developing characters' pasts. Luckily, FFIX gives me absolutely nothing to go off of with most of the characters…**

**This was very spontaneous, but I feel like I worked into it the right away… Steiner and Beatrix's relationship never gets any drama, with Zidane and Dagger hogging it all… So I figured meh – Bronson's not around, let's make trouble with someone else for once!**

**Needless to say, it was a lot more fun to write about Steiner and his brother and their relationship with Beatrix… You can't hate Steiner's brother :)**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I hope there aren't **_**too**_** many questions left to offer. If you are confused, however, just let me know, and I'll explain it better for ya! Thanks guys!**

**-zesty-**


	54. Chapter 53: Puzzles Who Doesn't Hate

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 53: Puzzles. Who Doesn't Hate Them?**

"He gets to go, but _I _can't go?! This is ridiculous!" Cinna threw up his hands, whipping his head from side to side. "Nobody's going to stick up for me?!"

"We all pretty much agreed… Marcus is just… better –" Blank nodded as he said this, "- than you…"

"You need to stay back and help Zenero, Baku, and the others work on the ship!" Dagger told him with a sly smile, "Nobody can do that job, but you…"

He stroked his chin, looking up in wonder. Was there a negative side to what she just said? Was she complimenting him, or just making fun of him. "Zidane you better watch yourself… I think Dagger has the hots for me…" He winked, and the girl face palmed.

"_Not_ what I meant…"

"You can deny it all you want, Sugar, but you and me… We're gonna make beautiful bab-"

"Okay!" Dagger clapped her hands together, taking in a shaky breath. "That's enough of that…" She pushed Cinna away by clamping her hand on his face, and pushing his head back. "Cinna you aren't welcome anymore. Go away and work on the airship."

Blank, Marcus and Zidane snickered.

He narrowed his eyes, jaw dropping, "_Ouch!_ Dagger's getting _harsh!_"

She smiled at him lightly, before picking up her staff from the wrack.

"Is everybody ready?" Lysandra asked, leaning on her sword that she'd plunged into the ground. "We don't want to be trekking about at night… That's definitely too dangerous…"

Dagger looked around at her group. She had to admit, it wasn't a very big one. There were Steiner and Beatrix, who hadn't said anything to anyone since they'd arrived, and wouldn't even _look _at each other. Then there was Zidane and Blank and Marcus, who were naturally trying to make the mood lighter. Freya and herself stood awkwardly next to the rowdy boys, and at the last moment, Amarant stepped up to take Vivi's spot, because the black mage really didn't want anything to do with a scary castle. Even though he hadn't said it, they all knew he was thinking it.

"Are we ready yet? This is a _real_ drag…" Amarant commented, rolling his eyes.

No more people answered Amarant than they did Lysandra, so the group took off anyways, assuming from everyone's silence (save for Dagger's slight nod) that they weren't going to be any _more_ ready in five minutes.

"Wait!" Everyone turned at the voice, to see a man most didn't recognize jogging towards them. Steiner's eyes narrowed. It was his brother. The man pranced up to Lysandra and stared at her, his dark eyes giving her a hard look. "I'm coming with…"

"Nathan…" she murmured, "You don't –"

"It's not a request…" He mumbled to her, glancing back at Beatrix and Steiner. Both of them crossed their arms and looked in different directions than his stare.

She sighed and nodded, "We're leaving now."

"It's fine… I'm ready…"

They started to move again, and even the boys settled down. The tension in the air was thicker than the fog; though Dagger was sure you could grasp the latter and cut through it if you _really_ wanted to. Soon, the group started to break – Lysandra, Nathan, and the two others she brought with her were up ahead, all standing in a united line.

Freya and Amarant hung back, unsure of what to make of the unusual attitude of the group. The three Tantalus stopped horsing around a few minutes into the hike, and walked side by side, every once in a while shooting glances of communication at one another.

Dagger walked behind them by herself, ever-analyzing the situation. She'd always been one to try and see everything from everyone's point of view, so she was sure the tension was coming from the two former knights at the front end of the group… It seemed to deepen when the man with the jet black hair tagged along.

Though their walk was only about forty minutes long, it felt like days they were trampling through the muddy grass, slipping along, waiting for a shape to build in the distance.

She began to get sleepy, rubbing at her eyes. Dagger was tired of all the tension in the air, but as soon as she was about to say anything at all, Lysandra spoke up first.

"There it is!" She called backwards, noticing a long time ago how her company lagged behind her. "Ipsen's castle!"

The group ran forward, peering up at the building, now in pure view. It floated on a piece of earth, looking like it was ripped out of the dirt. The long staircase that ascended into the castle was the only thing suspending it to the ground.

The woman turned around, walking to Steiner. She handed him a gun-like device and looked at him very seriously in the eyes. "If you make it out… Do not hesitate to call for our aid… Shoot this gun into the air, and we'll mirror your shots… We will lead you back safely through the mist…"

"Thank you," he nodded to her, refusing to look at anyone else as he started forward.

They all followed, nodding their thank you's silently to the woman as they began the climb to the castle.

"Are you sure you want them going in with no help?" She asked her partner.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and turned away from the sight in front of him. "They can't be trusted…" With that, he walked away from the woman, whose one aquamarine eye trained on him as he went.

"What's the matter with you?" She whispered faintly, before signaling to the rest of her own group to follow her back.

Beatrix sighed, glancing at Steiner, who was still marching steadily on ahead. Even her own legs were aching, wishing for a break. They'd been running up the stairs for a solid ten minutes, and while it didn't seem like a long time, the stairs were a lot steeper than they looked from the ground.

"Steiner," she called out, bent over, clutching her thighs for support. "I think we should take a break…"

"Already?" He called back, not stopping.

She glanced behind them. Only Freya was behind her still, her icy eyes piercing through the fog, staring towards the castle in wonder. Apparently, she was the only one who could hold a dead sprint at this angle.

"You're out of shape, Beatrix…" He turned to her, and for the first time since the whole family ordeal started this morning, he smiled. She felt relief flood her as he galloped down a few steps to sit next to her. But even as he did this, she could see his chest rapidly rising and falling as well.

She smiled at him, just delighted he was speaking again. "Steiner…"

"Let's not talk about it now, okay?" He asked, glancing down the stairs. He watched Dagger comically try to yank Zidane up the stairs, but the blonde was a heap of dead weight at the moment.

She sighed, "Okay…" The brunette turned back to look down the stairs once more. Seeing that they stopped in the distance, the others slowly tramped up the stairs. Turning back around, the woman's eyes fixated on the structure in front of her. What they had thought before was _earth_ that the castle was floating on, turned out to be another castle – exactly like the first, but upside down.

"Thiis… is going to be more interesting than we all anticipated, isn't it?" Marcus asked, being the first of the boys to get there.

"I think we're in for a big surprise," Steiner agreed. As soon as Zidane, the last of the group, made it to them, they started walking again. His jaw dropped.

"Are you kidding?"

Nobody said a thing, their minds extending out to the castle in front of them. Steiner deliberately slowed, moving at an almost leisurely pace up the stairs. Even after a few moments, the blonde had to follow, no amount of thoughts flying through his mind could make him speak.

_Have you come to challenge Ipsen's Castle?_ A voice asked Steiner in his mind, but he could tell from the expressions mirrored on everyone else's faces, they had heard the same words inside their head.

Instead of answering, his chewed his lip, pulling out his sturdy broadsword, and continuing forward. Though the first stretch of stairs seemed to take an eternity, this stretch didn't give them enough time to decide what they wanted to do, before finally, they burst through the castle's doors.

At first, everything seemed regular. There were windows so far up, that the light shining down on them was meek from the distance. The stone walls were ancient and crumpling, but ivy pillars with gold trim held the whole place up. In front of them, a hall extended horizontally to the right or left. In front of that was a small staircase of only two or three stairs that lead onto a landing, almost like a porch, that had a door on the right, and another stairway on the left.

But it wasn't this peculiar set up for a castle that had them gawking in wonderment. Above the landing, there was a balcony, and beyond the balcony were walls with hanging tapestry, drained of color from sun bleaching, and rugged with age. But the odd thing about these decorations, was the curve at which they hung.

On any normal wall, they would sag low, almost like a U shape… But these curtains were flipped upside down.

"Ohhh my…" Freya mumbled, causing all eyes traveling upward to see another balcony at least twenty feet above the strange tapestry, again, flipped upside down.

Dagger turned around, blinking her giant chocolate eyes at Zidane. She didn't look like she wanted to go any further, and bit her lip, wondering if it'd be appropriate to ask if she could stay at the door and wait for their return.

But before she could voice this opinion, Steiner walked forward to the wall, reading the words imprinted on the walls.

"_Do not be restricted by your knowledge and experience. This place turns logic upside down. What's big is small, what's strong is weak, and heaven is earth…"_

"The same words in your father's letter…" Beatrix mumbled.

From his pocket, he pulled out a thick stack of parchment that the woman recognized as the same thing he was reading on the Tantalus airship on the way here.

"My father outlines this very scene in front of us in this letter. He tells of how the first night, he extended into that hallway, and the tricks that awaited him were so nimble and horrendous, he left to write a letter home… He writes his good-byes in this letter, saying that he would probably not return from Ipsen's castle, and that if he didn't, he had arranged for someone to send word to us… If he did… He would write us."

He glanced at the others, staring at him in anticipation, "We didn't get a letter nor did we get word that he had died…" He stared up at the balcony, now looking more terrorizing than before. "I wish to seek out what happened to him."

"Well stand behind you, Rusty…" It was Zidane who spoke first, and the knight turned around, shocked. As though answering a silent question, the blonde shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Did you come after Blank and I when we went searching? It was dangerous, and we almost died, I'll admit… And yet, you came anyways… I'm finally getting a chance to thank you for that…"

To say that Steiner was touched would be an understatement. The former knight turned completely around, and walked with a high head over to Zidane. Slapping a hand on his shoulder, he let on a small smirk. "Perhaps I have been wrong about you all this time, Zidane…"

The Genome's eyebrows shot up in shock.

"Your talent and mind are both advanced far beyond what I expected when I first met you… And I am sorry for doubting your abilities before…"

Zidane was at a loss for words. His sapphire eyes shined as he clasped his hand on Steiner's arm and nodded, unable to think of anything else to say. The man turned back towards the front and sucked in a breath.

"Let us begin…"

* * *

It began with hours of walking soundlessly, hoping not to disrupt any of the monsters or other strange things that might have been lurking in the castle.

But after three hours of constant rummaging around with no sign of life, trace of Steiner's father, or really any danger at all beside the dizzying side effects of being right side up, then flipping upside down, defying gravity and the laws of architecture, the little group decided they were going to talk.

At first, it was only a couple of hushed whispers – mostly Blank and Zidane bickering, and Dagger and Marcus telling them to shut up. But soon Beatrix started to question Steiner, Dagger wondered this and that out loud to Freya, and Marcus eventually joined in on the two younger thieves' conversations.

After a lapse in conversation with Beatrix, Steiner found himself wondering into the past, not really knowing what to think about this whole mess.

"_I met this real nice girl, Adelbert…" He smirked, and flopped down on their bed. "I can't even begin to tell you what she's like."_

"_You could start with her name…" Both of them looked up to see their eldest brother walk in the door, carrying a large sack with him._

"_What'd you bring?!" Adelbert asked excitedly, scampering up and over to the table. "What'd you get? What'd you get?"_

"_Hush!" His oldest brother shook his head with a chuckle, "Open the bag and look yourself…"_

_The eighteen year old pulled open the sack to reveal a couple of chickens. His eyes almost fell out of his head, "Alexander, you brought back _chicken_?!" Quickly enough, Nathaniel was stumbling over himself to get to the table as well._

"_I figured my two favorite brothers deserve a treat…" He grinned, and put his hand on his youngest brother's shoulder. "Happy Birthday, Adelbert…"_

_He smirked, straightening up with pride that his birthday was not forgotten. "Thanks!"_

"_I have a surprise for you…" He was about to say something, but Alexander stopped him, "But first, I want to hear about this girl that you met, Nathaniel…"_

_He blushed and turned away. "It's nothing really…"_

"_Come on, tell us…" He grinned stupidly at his two younger brothers, and beckoned them to sit around the table._

"_Okay… Well… She's beautiful! She's got this long brown hair, and her eyes are just _gorgeous_! They light up every time I see her! She's determined and brave and –"_

"_Her _name_, Nathaniel!" Adelbert laughed._

"_Okay, okay…" He chuckled, spilling his words quickly. "Maybe you know her, she's training to be a knight too… Her name is Beatrix!"_

_The room suddenly fell quiet, and both of his brothers stared at him. Nathaniel shrunk back as though he'd said something wrong. "Why are you two staring at me like a fool?"_

"_Well…" Alexander's eyes slide to Adelbert, who's lips were pressed into a hard line. "It's just that Adelbert –"_

_The youngest of the three slammed his foot on top of his older brother's. Out of reflex, his leg flew up, knee slamming into the wooden table. "Ouch!" He yelped._

"_What's wrong?" Nathaniel asked, his brows knitting together, confusion bunching on his face._

"_I was just going to say… that… Adelbert thinks she's kind of… umm…" Said brother gripped the table, hoping the oldest wouldn't spill his secret crush on the same girl his brother liked. "A wench!" It was the first word that came to his mind that _wasn't_ nice._

"_What? Why?"_

"_Erm…" Alexander was going to have to take the fall for that one… His other brother got up, and started rummaging through the sack he'd brought in, wondering if there was more than just chicken to eat tonight. "Well… She's kind of… prissy, and um… Dates a lot of… Adel! I forgot your surprise! Let's go see what it is!"_

"_Okay!" He leapt at the opportunity, and the two stumbled out of the room, leaving their other brother very confused, blinking at the table._

"_Why don't you want him to know?"_

"_I don't want to be fighting with him for the next however many days or months because we both like the same girl!"_

"_Well you just –" Alexander traced his brother's line of sight, cutting off his sentence._

_Adelbert stared with disbelief at the sidewalk in front of their house. Kuja's war had yet to come to the mist continent, but apparently, his older brother was making sure he was ready for _anything_ that came at him._

_There on the ground was a huge leather sheath, and when he hurriedly picked it up, and pulled on the handle, the nicest looking blade he'd ever seen in his life revealed itself. The broadsword was sturdy. Those kinds of metals were precious and expensive in Alexandria these days with all the knights being trained._

_Yet here he was, forgetting about the excitement he had had when the Captain of the Pluto knights handed him his first whimsical short sword, and swimming in the delight of his eighteenth birthday gift._

"_Do you like it?"_

"_I _love_ it!" He whipped around, hugging his brother quickly, "I love it, thank you so much!"_

_He smiled and pulled back, "It was Dad's…"_

_His brother fell silent, the goofy grin falling off of his face. "D-dad's?"_

_Alexander nodded, pushing his blonde hair out of his eyes. He was the black sheep of the family, stunning stormy grey eyes, and shaggy blonde hair, compared to his father and two brothers' dark eyes and even darker hair._

"_And you're giving this to me?" He gasped. "Why?! Why not for yourself?!"_

_He smirked, "I've been a knight for a little while now, and though I may not be the best or the smartest… I definitely know that I have more access to a sturdy sword than you… Besides, I think Dad would be proud of you. I'm just any old part of a regiment, but your talent and speed… It's going to have you at top ranking in the Pluto Knights soon… Because you know… Dad was a Pluto Knight…"_

"_He was?!" The raven haired teen's eyes almost fell out of his head. "I didn't know that!"_

_Alexander nodded, "He used to tell me stories all the time about it… They really are a respectable little regiment… I would be proud to be there…" He nodded and ruffled the boy's hair, "Let's get back inside… Just this once, I'll give you bragging rights to Nathan – but don't tell him its Dad's okay? I think he might get mad."_

_Adelbert nodded dutifully, "Yes sir!"_

"Guys!" Dagger's shocked voice brought Steiner out of his thoughts, as he glanced at her. All the blood must have been flowing to his head from standing upside down too much.

Her hair hung down irritatingly in front of her face, and her cheeks were abnormally red. But her hand leaned on the crystal window, also upside down, in front of her. Instead of the top, the bottom peaked into a point, and the scene on the stained glass was the wrong way.

"I think this is the end of the castle…"

Steiner narrowed his eyes, walking closer to it. His eyes inspected it, and he shrugged. "It looks like it to me… But I can't see the other –" he touched it, and suddenly it rippled. Everyone leapt back with a shout… windows shouldn't do that.

"What the hell?!" Marcus touched it again, and the same thing happened.

"I have a bad feeling…" Freya said, glancing about.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, creatures of all kinds began crawling out of crevices and upside down windows and archways around the room.

"We're going to fight upside down?" Dagger's confidence was wavering with her ability to see straight. They'd been walking upside down for a good twenty minutes.

"Makes it interesting!" Zidane laughed, leaping forward and kicking one of the creatures square in the head.

It hissed and fell back, before springing again.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Blank demanded, before spinning on request of Dagger's scream, watching as a large eyeball monster leapt down at him.

Steiner continually sliced all enemies that came at him, watching his step so he could protect Dagger incase she needed to cast any spells. But the more he sliced them, the easier they bounced back.

The thing Zidane was currently trying to beat down flipped open the book in its hand, and started mumbling a bunch of words. The blonde was unsure how to stop him, but didn't really have enough time to react anyways. A bright light illuminated out of it, and gargoyles hanging on the walls for protection, suddenly came to life, flying at them.

One of those stone statues was behind Dagger, and bravely, she slammed her staff into it. She half expected the wooden rod to break in two, but instead the stone gargoyle screeched hideously, before cracking and crumbling into pieces.

"_What's big is small… What's strong is weak…_" She gasped, catching on before everyone else. "Your weapons! Don't use your weapons!"

"What?!" Blank spluttered, sliding under the creature still coming after him at full force. He ran into Zidane's back, Genome flipped over them, swiftly switching attackers.

"I don't think –"

"Do it!" She commanded, throwing her staff to the ground. The others weren't as sure, but as a tonberry slipped through the wall, ready to knife the girl, she ducked underneath his poisonous blade, and flipped backwards, kicking him in the process.

He screeched and melted back into the wall, not returning to attack again.

"What's strong is weak!" She repeated, "Your weapons are too powerful to kill these creatures!"

Still, Steiner and Beatrix didn't seem convinced, but threw their swords down anyways. Steiner's metal gloves smashed into the gargoyles coming his way, and a grin overtook his face. "You've got it right, Dagger!" He praised.

Marcus flipped over the cerberus that just leapt from the wall, both mouths barking viciously. He grabbed onto the collar around his neck, and rode with it for a little bit, steering him into the other creatures.

Both mouths began devouring other creatures, before bucking the Tantalus thief off of him.

"Ahh!" Marcus tried to warn Blank before he tumbled into him, but the two went spiraling towards the edge of the walk way.

Zidane whipped around, hearing their grunts and calls, and both of them went rolling off the edge, falling _up_. He raced towards them, staring at what appeared to be down, when in reality it was up.

"Little help?" Blank asked with a cheeky smile.

The blonde got down on his hands and knees to help, yanking up the short redhead who had Marcus clinging to his waist.

"Zidane!" Dagger yelled, sliding under a gargoyle's pounce. "Look out!"

He turned his head just in time to see a veteran – one of the eyeball bats that had attacked Blank – his one eyed glare evil, as his claws caught the blonde's shoulders and yanked him off of the walk way.

"Ahh!" He yelled, being flipped right side up, but now upside down from the rest of his group. He scrambled for an edge, but the creature wisely kept him away from any stone.

"Oh shit!" Marcus yelled, when a gargoyle latched onto his leg. He sunk his stone teeth into the thief's foot, sending him scrambling. Blank's hands lost more ground inch by inch.

"Marcus!" He howled.

The thief heard the damn gargoyle grinding away through his leg, and the thought made him sick to his stomach. Finally, in a brave act, he let go of Blank's wrist, and felt himself falling the opposite direction.

"Marcus!" Blank called again, wondering if he should jump after him.

Said guy was busy punching the gargoyle's head, still latched onto his leg. He felt the warm liquid drip down his leg, but all the blood in his head was making him dizzy. His knuckles throbbed. He was either going to smack into the ceiling (or floor?), dying with this thing, or he was going to latch onto a balcony and lose his leg.

Suddenly, a weapon came shooting through the air, slicing right into the gargoyle's stone skull, and slowly, the pieces started to crumble away. The thief snatched up the claws that had been thrown his way, and scampered for some sort of a ledge. "Nice!" He cheered when he saw it was _Amarant's_ weapon in his hand.

Freya found herself trying to do _any_ sort of low level magic on all the gargoyles flooding the area. Her eyes were wide, and she was tired, her mana draining quickly. It seemed to be working, but more and more continually took each of the monsters' place moments after it was killed.

"Go for the ones with the books first!" Steiner adviced her, punching one down. It crumpled and cried beneath him, before wisping away.

Beatrix focused her energies and shot her weakest lightning spells at the enemies with the books cradled in their arms. They cried out just as all the others, before dissolving into the air. It wasn't the best attack, due to the drain on her energy, and the fact that even the lowest power spell she had was still pretty damn good, but it hit multiple targets at once, and she was tired of jumping around without a sword.

"Zidane!" Dagger cried, watching in disbelief in between her own small battles. She had the best weapon for the job, and she used it to her advantage.

The poor blonde was being dragged around, airborne, by the veteran who hoped to find an acceptable height to drop him from.

She focused her energy, and shot a spell at Zidane, the magenta hue exploding from her hands. Her face light up with the strange light as she focused on Zidane. His body suddenly shrunk within itself, and though sort of painful, he was free from the damn bat's grasp.

He began to free fall in the air, screaming in a high-pitched voice. His arms waved and his legs kicked like he was trying to swim, before Dagger jumped, and caught him in her hand.

It was weird, having her hand curled protectively around his whole body, and he decided he _didn't_ like the strange feeling that came with it. "Change me back!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

She could barely hear his request, but quickly did what he asked. She'd had the spell on her before, and she hated it, but that was the only way she could think to get him out.

"We're almost done! Three more!" Beatrix yelled to them, as the Bermecian tried pulling Blank up from the ledge where he was still dangling miserably.

"Did I miss all the fun?" He asked, but sounded more relieved than anything else.

Amarant's fist connected with the last of the enemies just moments later, and needless to say, they were all exhausted. As the six of them rested, the raven cast a cure spell on Marcus, who watched his own leg patch itself up. His pants were all torn, and he grumbled, knowing it would be Cinna who gave him shit about it.

"We'll find you! You're by a balcony, right?" She called up to him.

He shook his head, "No, it's fine… I'll be down in a second!" He crawled into the doorway, disappearing for only a minute, before reappearing down the path a little ways.

"Let's find somewhere right side up for a little while, huh?" Zidane groaned, clutching his head.

"You look a little pale…" Blank poked at him, but the blonde swatted his hand away.

"I really, _really_ hate that mini spell, Dagger," The blonde told her, but she shrugged with an innocent smile.

"I was saving your butt…"

"Ugh…"

"Come on… Let's go to Marcus and find a different path!" Amarant told them, hopping up. He was irritated with how slow moving this was going, but even more frustrated that the way was so confusing… because there was nothing any of them could do about it.

"What about that weird window?" Dagger asked, wiping the stone dust from her yellow pants.

"If it's going to produce _more_ things for us to fight upside down, I'd rather just leave it alone…" She ignored Blank's wisdom and ventured to the wall.

"Don't touch it, Dagger!" Freya warned her, readying her weapon though the back of her mind tried to remind her it wouldn't be any good… She felt naked fighting with no spear to protect her.

She peered into it, and saw something very strange. While a regular window would reflect back at her, she saw nothing but a brightly lit path. Instead of listening to the Bermecian, she gingerly put her hand up to it. Touching it softly this time, and giving a little push, the group watched in stunned amazement as her hand went through.

"What the fu-" She pushed through the entire window, vanishing, before Blank finished his exclaimed curse.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I'm going to admit… Ipsen's castle is a LOT harder to write than I originally thought, so I'm sorry if it seems rushed or a little lame… Try and bear with me through this part… It's kind of obnoxious to write!**

**Those lame creatures I did **_**not**_** make up either, by the way. They are the actual monsters chilling in Ipsen's Castle in FF9 :)**

**I hope you enjoyed that chapter though!**

**-zesty-**


	55. Chapter 54: Running in Circles

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 54: Running in Circles**

Her friends weren't in sight, but rather, a normal looking hallway with red carpet down the middle, and a stair case on either side of her. Just a little to her right was a mirror hanging on the wall. Curiously, she walked to it, knowing she wouldn't have any back up if she was attacked.

But it was _here_ that she saw her friends, running to her aid almost as if in slow motion. With too much temptation to bear, the young girl pulled the mirror off the wall.

It was only a hand mirror – big enough to fit in her palm, and yet she could see everyone so clearly in it. As her friends raced to the spot where she had gone through, fists met hard glass – there wasn't a way in.

She panicked for a moment, unsure of what to do. Glancing around, her paranoia shot through the roof. "Where am I?" She asked, gazing into the mirror again.

_Do not be restricted by your knowledge and experience. This plays turns logic upside down. What's big is small, what's strong is weak, and heaven is earth…_

The girl suddenly remembered those words, and narrowed her eyes, staring into the mirror again.

"Heaven is earth…" Though her skepticism was high, she hung with mirror on the wall just as Zidane heaved a push against the window. The moment it was back on the wall, he fell through, half of his body on her side of the window.

"Dagger!" He choked out.

She turned to him and ran, pulling him all the way through. The others followed shortly. "What is this place?" Freya asked, eyes glancing around cautiously.

"I don't know…" She walked back to the mirror and pointed to it, "I could see you… through there!"

"How did you stop us from getting through?" Marcus asked, having walked through just a moment after them. Her cure spell really helped his leg. Almost all the pain was gone – she must have been getting good at her spells.

"I moved the mirror…" She explained simply, but only received looks indicating they all thought she was crazy. She took it down from the wall, even though everyone's first reflex was to jerk forward to stop her. "Go try and get back to the other side of the window…"

Amarant did this, being closest to it, but not being able to. "You're serious, girlie? You aren't doing something?"

She shook her head rapidly, shoulder length hair flying all over. "I swear… It's this mirror…" She held it up, but they all jumped back. "What?!"

"It _moved_ places!"

"What?" She pulled it down and stared at it, and sure enough, it was as though the man behind the camera was moving, and the scene that they saw was in front of wherever his lens went.

"Hey…" Blank narrowed his eyes and pointed forward. "That looks like where we are now!"

But instead of holding on their position, it continued to move forward.

"I think…" Freya furrowed her brows, tipping her hat back so they could see her ice-blue eyes. "I think it wants us to follow."

Amarant scoffed and crossed his arms. "There's no way I'm following a creepy ass mirror…"

But the others ignored him and started to move forward. Freya rolled her eyes at the stubborn man, "Fine… stay here by yourself and get lost without our help."

He glared at her, "I don't need your help."

"Suit yourself." She told him curtly, before moving on ahead with the rest of the group.

Almost in a whining way, the man followed, dragging his large feet along after him. "Stupid blue Bermecian…" he mumbled, glaring at the ground.

Marcus winced every time he walked on his leg. It was healing up fine really, but as he watched Zidane, the blonde's limp more and more evident each time Marcus felt his own, he wondered how Zidane did it. He wondered how the blonde had managed to stay alive through all that torment Kuja unleashed through months upon months of angry build up that someone had escaped his clutches. He pondered how the Genome could want to keep going – let alone smile about it.

Though Marcus was the quickest (physically and intelligently), and everyone had their secret speculations that Blank was the toughest, Cinna was the most tech-savy, Ruby was the most caring, and Baku was their leader… Zidane just had a bit of everything, and kept himself going with the odds against him, still trying to please others.

The thief shook his head… He knew he couldn't do it.

Dagger stopped suddenly, causing everyone to bump together a little bit. He 'oofed' when he ran into the back of the blonde, and he heard the same from Freya when she ran into him.

"Why did you stop?"

"Look…" She traced her fingers delicately over the mirror. "It stopped moving…"

"Are we supposed to turn or something?" Blank asked, running a hand through his red hair. This trip into Ipsen's castle was more irritating and stressful than he originally thought.

"No…" She shook her head when her reflection suddenly appeared in front of her, staring with confusion back at herself. "Look… It's like a normal mirror now…"

She handed it off to Steiner so he could take a look at it. His furrowed eyebrows and stressed eyes stared hauntingly back at him. "She's right."

Dagger rolled her eyes.

"So what now?"

"We keep doing what we've been doing…" Zidane shrugged, "We just keep walking…"

"Greeeat…" Marcus mumbled with an eye roll. He laced his fingers together and placed them on the back of his head, letting his elbows flop down by his ears. "This place is shitty!" He got no answer – just as he expected… which meant everyone agreed.

"Well if we found this mirror, it's different than anything else… Which means we _must_ be at least somewhat on the right track… right?" Zidane glanced at his comrades, who mirrored his uncertainty in their stature.

"Zidane's right… We have to keep moving forward," Beatrix told them, putting her hand on Steiner's shoulder to turn him around, and beckoning to Amarant and Freya, who were at the end of the group.

"Maybe we should split up…" The burly redhead said. All eyes jerked back to him in an instant. He tickled his face with the sharp tip of his claws. "It'll be faster."

"We're all going to get lost and rot in here anyways!" Blank threw up his hands, glaring. "I'd rather do it together than alone!"

"No, I think he might be onto something…" Freya tossed in. She pulled out a vial that most instantly recognized as a potion. She yanked out the cork, and made one tiny drip on the ground.

The ground seemed to absorb it, yet _not_, and it made a strange, purple spot, like watercolor paint on a wet paper, "Maybe we could retrace our steps back to here…"

"That's crazy!"

"But it might work… We might be able to find something out…"

"How will we know when to come back?"

Steiner rubbed his chin for a moment. "Give it roughly an hour… I mean, if you make it back here before everyone else _don't_ leave, even if people don't come back for a little bit…"

"So what if every other group is dead, and you're just here, chillin', waitin'?" Blank asked, a scowl on his face. "I don't like this idea."

"We should definitely be in small groups…"

"No way. I'm going alone…" Amarant pulled out an antidote and shook the yellow liquid inside. He dropped his first drip defiantly on the ground. "See you in an hour…" He told them, before wandering off.

"I guess it's not really up for debate anymore…" Zidane chuckled at his friend, the redhead's jaw dropped at the man's rude attitude.

"Dagger, with me…" Steiner said protectively. She nodded and pulled out a phoenix down, periwinkle, waving to the others.

"Good luck!" And then they were on their way as well.

"Freya?" Beatrix questioned almost timidly. It seemed the brunette woman didn't like the idea of splitting up any more than Blank.

Freya pulled out a vial of eyedrops, and allowing just a small amount to trickle to the ground. The eyedrops made a deep blue color, and they left without another word.

"I think all three of us should stick together," Blank told Marcus and Zidane. "Since Amarant had to be an asshole and wander off by himself."

"Sounds good to me!" The blonde piped up. Marcus slipped a remedy out of his pouch, and let the forest green color splatter on the ground.

"Let's do this!"

* * *

She glanced worriedly at the former knight walking a little ahead of her. His face looked so determined, that for the last half hour, she hadn't wanted to disturb him by uttering a word.

Her heart ached for him, watching as his eyes scanned each area thoroughly. She had been put in charge of splashing phoenix down drops on the ground, but other than that, he hadn't said anything. She wondered what was going through his head – things about his family, and things about where his father could have gone…

The girl didn't know a lot about Steiner. She'd only ever been close to him when they were in the resistance. Steiner was the captain of the Pluto knights, and was her protector when she was in the castle, but she hadn't been old enough to remember. She hadn't known what he was like when he lived an average life in Alexandria. She remembered asking him one time when she was small if he had a girlfriend, and he laughed and said no… Then she inquired him with the question of his family, and his eyes got a little sad, and he hugged her, telling her that she was his family.

But now that she was older, it was more of a bond, than a blood relative sort of thing, and she understood that. She loved Steiner in the way that you love an older brother, or an uncle, but it was hard to imagine him having other members of a family she never knew.

The mirror that Dagger continually clutched in her hand suddenly shot out a fiercely bright light. Her phoenix down clattered to the ground, spilling all over, the vial clinking as it rolled away.

Steiner whipped around immediately, "What was that?!" He demanded.

"I don't know!" The girl told him, "I was just holding it, and it just suddenly –" it did it a second time, and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the blinding white.

* * *

"So what is happening between you and Steiner?" Freya's question surprised the brunette woman, who stared at her in shock. The Bermecian shrugged nonchalantly, her eyes kept forward on the path ahead of them. "I know I don't normally meddle into those things but… the tension on the way here was quite high…"

She sighed, "I don't know, to be honest…"

"Do you want to talk about it?" Freya asked, wincing. She knew that the only other girl that Beatrix was close to besides the Bermecian was Dagger, but the girl was young and things still came relatively easy to her… Considering both Freya and Fratley were knights, even though she didn't particularly enjoy the topic, she thought maybe she could lend a helping hand.

The woman sighed again, and stopped, turning towards the Bermecian. "Please don't share this information with Dagger… I don't know what she would think."

"My lips are sealed," The woman told her, though a grin played over her face. She felt like they were children exchanging secrets.

"Steiner's older brother is here…"

"What?!" That definitely wasn't something she expected to be part of her problem.

"Back before the war overtook Alexandria…" She was way too embarrassed to stay facing Freya, so turned and cast her eyes out over the balcony that they were currently residing in. "I met Steiner's brother, Nathaniel, and… I don't know… Both of us still lived a relatively normal life – I was a knight of course, but there wasn't a lot of action in the northeast of the Mist Continent from the war yet… And he owned the shop him and his brothers inherited from his lost father…" She shrugged, "Everything was great… But the closer war loomed to us, the more I had to leave, and the more the Rose Brigade was stuck with the Pluto Knights… Steiner and I were closer in age, had more in common, and were more alike… We started to get close…"

She rubbed at her eyes, hoping that Freya wasn't judging her too badly. The Bermecian, in truth, was shocked that the brunette was actually sharing with her. The story wasn't commonly known, and she was curious to see what made their chemistry so strong.

"I was faithful to Nathaniel one-hundred percent, and yet… He started to grow away from me… And finally one day, he told me he couldn't do it anymore, and he left…"

"Just up and left? No other word?" Freya asked her, receiving a silent nod in reply.

"And now seeing him all these years later… Steiner was devastated… He had lost Alexander – his eldest brother – not long before that in a battle in the evil forest… Kuja had bandits waiting for them – it was a total ambush… Steiner watched his brother die, and then watched as the other one abandoned him." She shrugged lightly. "Now seeing that he came here and made a home for himself must be terrible… All three of us are thrown eight years into the past, and I can't help to think about what would have happened between all of us, if Nathan hadn't left…"

Freya was quiet as they continued moving. She could tell that even though she had offered to help, that Beatrix wasn't really looking for an answer – she had just wanted someone to spill her problems too… Someone who wasn't a begrudging Steiner, or Nathaniel, who ran away from all of his problems.

"I'm sorry," she finally said, "But I'm glad that Steiner was there for you…"

"I feel horrible…" She whispered, her usually confident voice so tiny. "I moved from one to the other –"

"That's not fair," Freya cut in right away, "Just because Nathaniel sees it one way, does not mean it went that way. He has an eight year time gap between the two of you – to him… It might seem as though you _did_ go from him to Steiner, solely because he has not been there for all you two have been through. It took you and Steiner roughly eight years to kindle a relationship. It is not fair for him to cast judgment."

"And yet he does."

"You cannot control what others do…" She stopped the woman and turned her around, boring into her eyes. Her long, slender fingers held Beatrix, looking suddenly so frail in front of her, in place. "Do not for a moment believe that you did that, nor did you use Steiner as a back up plan…" The words felt foreign and informal on her tongue, but she had heard Tantalus using such peculiar language, and figured this was an appropriate enough time.

Beatrix let on a small smile. "Thank you…" She whispered.

But before either of them knew it, a gargoyle had ripped off the wall and slammed into the both of them, knocking them over the balcony railing, teeth gnarling and ready to bite.

* * *

Amarant skidded across the floor with a grunt. He watched as the rest of his antidote splayed across the floor. He winced as he tried to stand, before one of the bat like veterans clawed at his arms.

"Get away from me!" He grabbed it by the wing and heaved downward. For something so tiny, it had incredibly strength, but eventually, he was able to pull it out of his flight path, and hurl it into the distance.

More and more enemies crawled ominously towards him, and he watched as a tonberry slowly materialized from a wall. He knew he needed to get out of there fast, otherwise he was dead.

He clutched the mirror under his arm, standing on his feet. He cringed as he put pressure on his right foot, but turned curtly around, trying to get back to their starting point… Hopefully, he'd run into someone on the way who could help him fight.

He'd found the strange mirror on the wall, and realized then that he must have traveled the length of the castle. This one was better camouflaged, looking like the wall itself. But as he walked by, his eyes must have been at the perfect angle, the dim rays of sun touching down into the room at the perfect time, because he watched it glint with reflection.

As soon as he'd seen it, he leapt towards it, but was careful not to touch. Working up the courage, he pulled it off the wall, and that's when, just like last time, all of the enemies appeared.

The first wave had been simple. A bright light illuminated from the mirror twice, almost blinding him. But then, enemies continued to come back, ready to defend the mirror. That's when he realized how much trouble he was in. Putting the mirror back on the wall wouldn't even help him now…

* * *

"That way!" Blank yelled, ushering them quickly forward through the hall.

Marcus and Zidane slide around the corner, while their redheaded friend brought up the rear. Behind them were more monsters than they could probably count.

"Where the fuck are we going?!" The genome puffed, his eyes wide and his head constantly whipping backwards to check and see how fast the fiends were gaining on them.

"Anywhere but right here!"

All three of them stumbled down the halls, not paying attention to the fact that they were crossing _everybody's _colors, and not just their own. "We're gonna get lost in here forever!" Blank cried, his breath leaving him in short bursts.

"We're gonna _die_ first if we don't get away from these things!" Marcus yelled at him, ducking under an awkwardly placed archway and into the next room. There were poles and staircases all over, and the three thieves did the first thing that came to mind.

They leapt from the platform and grabbed a hold of the poles as the smaller monsters (the only ones that could fit through the hole) swarmed in. All three took one look at each other, before lifting the grips of their boots from the pole and sliding all the way down.

As soon as they started to pick up speed, they saw the bottom, eyes all widening. "Well, what do we do now?!"

"We're gonna splatter against the ground that's what we're going to do!" Blank yelled.

"You know your pessimistic attitude is a real _thrill_ to spend the last ten seconds of my life with!" Zidane barked at him with a grin.

A bright light enveloped them, and as soon as they opened their eyes again, they were slowly floating towards the ground. Glancing upward, they saw Dagger's worried face peering over the edge of a balcony.

They cheered for her as soon as their feet landed on the ground. And it even appeared that the monsters had stopped following them.

"I hope everyone else is doing alright…" Steiner said from behind the girl. She glanced behind her to stare at his troubled expression.

"I'm sure they're alright… We just have to find everyone…" She nodded, "Something must have happened, otherwise that light wouldn't have appeared…

"We don't know if it was good or bad, Dagger…" He reminded her grimly, "Let's meet Zidane, Marcus, and Blank at the bottom."

The Tantalus members waited up for the two, before they all started walking again.

"If anybody else was attacked like we were, I can guarantee that nobody is going to be back to their spots…"

"I'm worried about Amarant," Zidane confessed with a shrug, "He went off by himself – there was no one to save his ass…"

"Let's look for him first," Dagger suggested with a nod.

It turns out, they didn't have to look very far. An upside down hallway and a staircase away, he was on the ground, groaning.

Immediately, all ran to his aid.

"What happened?" He grumbled lightly.

"You tell us…" Zidane chuckled at him, trying to lighten the mood.

"I was getting swarmed…" He murmured, "Because I picked this damn thing up off the ground! And – and…" He groaned and thumped his head lightly against the ground, "I shouldn't have ran off… Zidane I'm…" He stared at the blonde, "I'm sorry…"

"What's done is done… All that matters is that you're alive…" While everyone fussed over the man down, Dagger gingerly took the piece of glass from him.

"How strange…" She murmured, watching how the mirrors reflected back at each other, but they showed a scene, not just the opposite mirror. It was almost like they were attracted to each other.

She leapt up, glancing at the men behind her, "I think I've got something to go off of…"

"We can't go without Beatrix and Freya!" Steiner insisted.

But Blank and Zidane hopped up after her, ready to go.

"I don't know if we'll have another chance, Steiner…" She glanced at him pleadingly, "What if it stops and we're stuck? There's no way we know where we were going after all those attacks!"

"It's true…" Amarant said, sitting up and wiping the blood off of his lip. She saw this gesture and cast him a weak cure spell. It made him feel better than he thought. "Thanks."

"They'll be alright…" Marcus told him, helping the older redhead up. "We need to start finding what we came looking for, or seeking an exit… With all the monsters in here, we won't last long otherwise."

Steiner sighed, overruled, before dragging himself to his feet. The girl started to run, too much adrenaline running through her body to slow down. They skid around corners and slid _up_ poles, and much to their delight, found dead ends that turned into real passageways with just a little searching.

Finally, they came to a door. It was huge and heavy looking, metal reinforcements running through the oak.

"I can't believe it!" Blank yelped, "It's the first damn door we've seen all day! Let's open it –"

"Wait!" Steiner called, yanking the greedy redhead back. "We cannot advance until we've found Beatrix and Freya." He yelled angrily.

"Then proceed…" Around a corner came the two women, a little beat up looking, but otherwise alright.

"Beatrix!" Steiner rushed forward, wrapping her in a hug. His hands pattered her shoulders and her face to make sure she was okay. It seemed he was too impatient with himself to get a grip, and eventually just settled for pulling her into him, and resting his chin on top of her head, his hand sliding down her chestnut hair.

"Good to see you made it alive," Zidane nodded to Freya, who looked at him with a smirk.

"You as well…" She said back, though her raised eyebrow made the others question if that's what they were talking about or not.

"Are we ready to see what's behind the door?" Amarant asked impatiently, "Or is your love scene not quite over yet?"

The two former knights blushed and pulled apart, walking up to the door. Steiner and Amarant together yanked it open, the heavy wood creaking as it inched open.

Inside was a large room. It seemed to have regular windows, peering out into the mist. There were no façades here… In the center was a large throne, velvet red cushioning it, made of glittering marble and speckled ivory, carved intricately with ancient patterns. Around there were ancient candle sticks on the wall, still lit.

"This room…" Dagger stepped forward, and suddenly felt the presence of a voice in her mind.

_The mirror of reveal, and the mirror of conceal… Together, they have extraordinary powers._

"Extraordinary?" The girl parroted in a whisper. With a sudden burst of bravery, she clapped both mirrors together. Instead of shattering on impact like she initially suspected, they merged together molding their shapes until it was one object, not two.

Another blinding light filled the room, snuffing out all the candles and rattling all the windows. Many voices – too many – filled their minds as they squeezed their eyes shut, willing nothing terrible to come out of her choices.

And then, just like that… It was over…

Except…

From every crack and crevice in the throne room – every window, every wall… even the throne in the middle of the room came _enemies_. Small fiends – one they hadn't previously seen in the castle, and gargoyles molded themselves out of the stone. Bookkeeping agares started to throw things at the group with their minds, and more than a few cerberuses were heading straight towards them. As soon as they turned around, they saw a line of tonberries drearily walking towards them, daggers extended.

"Shit!"

The group burst into the hall again, throwing themselves in the opposite direction of the tonberries, unable to get a good grip on where to go. There were fiends pouring in from _everywhere_. If they thought the first fight was hard… or maybe even their individual fights… this one was sure to kill them.

"This way!" Zidane told them, running forward, down a hall that had light seeping through a window at the end. He was hoping this window was breakable, and even if they died doing it, they could escape this stony hell.

But only three steps into the hallway, the floor fell out from underneath him, and before he knew it, Zidane was screaming, staring up at Dagger, who had been right on his tail, as she free fell towards the ground along with him.

* * *

**A/N: I know that wasn't the greatest chapter, but shit! That was hard to write… And not very entertaining I might add… I hope you kind of enjoyed it anyways… I'm really hoping to wrap up Ipsen's Castle next chapter… It sucks! Lol**

**Leave me your comments and questions :)**

**-zesty-**


	56. Chapter 55: A New Resistance?

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Dislcaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 55: A New Resistance?**

The noises around him flooded through his ears sounding filtered. Everything seemed far away and fuzzy, and when he opened his eyes, his vision swam.

Groaning, he pushed himself to his knees, knocking the bits of wood and dust from his being. When he lifted his head again, he saw bright yellow, red… and one big blob of brown.

When he squinted, he realized it was Dagger and Freya, their weapons drawn. In front of them was a giant flying type insect. Its long tail whipped out behind it, scales shining in the dusty light. Four long, steel feelers jabbed viciously downward, hoping to impale one of the two in front of him. Despite their bewildered movements, he didn't process that they were fighting, and might appreciate some help.

So he glanced around, taking in the still-blurry scenery. It was dark, and though the walls were still stone, it seemed like they were held in place hastily by a _lot_ of wood. There were wooden support beams nailed across the ceiling, and wooden pillars, contrasting largely with the grand ivory and marble he'd seen before.

His other companions laid sprawled out on the ground around them, still knocked unconscious, or _just_ coming to. There was one hallway in the room, but after a few feet, it got ominously dark, and chills ran down his spine when he stared at it for too long. Otherwise, it was just a big area, cold and damp, the musty smell from the mold, lingering in the air.

He looked down at the ground under his hands, and jumped back, teetering onto his feet. A skull stared back at, the jaw looking like it was smiling, telling him he was going to die in just the same way.

Azure eyes were wide as he tried to scrutinize the room more carefully. There were chains on the walls, and one other dark door that had bars criss-crossing in the tiny peep hole of a window, and a hallway behind it that didn't look much better than the room he and his teammates were residing in.

The most prominent features of the room, however, were the decayed bodies, only the pristine white of bones left over… Some bones were cracked and brown with the dirt and dust, and others looked fresher… A new set of chills crawled down his spine, clutching his stomach.

And just like that, his dream like reality was over. Noise was blasting in his ears again, and he could hear the shrill calls of Freya and Dagger, trying to wake their comrades up, even as they battled the horrendous beast. It roared viciously loud, and some part of his mind wandered how he hadn't seen it before.

The blonde blinked slowly, sliding his dagger out of its sheath. He wondered if this beast also took weak weapons, but he watched as Freya jammed it again and again with her spear, and it seemed to be affecting it well enough.

He rubbed his head, wondering how hard he hit it, before Dagger called out his name.

"Zidane! We could use your help!" She glanced back at him quickly with a grin, though it never reached her eyes.

He stumbled a little as he walked forward, still wandering in a daze, and he knew in an instant he was in no condition to fight. His leg throbbed as he ambled, but he knew he needed to help them anyways.

Running a wobbly run, he darted towards the monster and leapt, arms and legs flailing, keeping his eyes firmly closed to contain the measly contents of his stomach, until he landed on its head. It thrashed and roared angrily at them, obviously not taking too kindly to being ridden on.

"Whoa!" Zidane called, watching as the ground continually spun beneath him. He fought to keep a grip on both his weapon and the monster as he pulled back his arm, digging his knife into its thick scales.

It howled and bucked him about, the blonde's stomach tightening and feeling even a little queasy with the movement. How far had he fallen?

At this point, unbeknownst to the blonde, Blank and Beatrix had joined the fight. The woman was a little wobbly, but nowhere near Zidane's drunken movements, and the redhead was supporting a badly cut up side, but they were simple fixes once this monster was defeated.

Beatrix threw a few spells out at the monster, hopefully trying to slow it did a good job pissing it off, though if her lightning spells did any damage, they couldn't tell.

She stiffened, readying herself for her next attack. The woman had to admit that she didn't usually do seiken, her non-elemental spell class, anymore. It drained too much of her energy, and these days, fighting in the resistance, she didn't have one massive enemy to take on at one time. This was obviously not the case now, and she hoped she could still inflict a heavy amount of damage on the beast with it.

The brunette focused her energies, light pulling almost magnetically to her hands and up her sword, as she ran forward, letting out a battle cry.

"Zidane, watch out!" Dagger warned him. The blonde had no choice than to dizzily let go of the monster, and clatter down on the stone next to him. His body groaned in protest as he weakly pulled himself to his feet, still not seeing clearly.

The woman's shock ability rumbled the entire dungeon, and the everyone was surprised that all of the crusty wooden supports _didn't_ come crashing down. The monster roared in pain, curling itself into a tight ball, trying to block itself from further attacks.

She quickly readied herself again, however, surprisingly enough, the insect-monster seemed to want to make a retreat, curling towards the wall, and making quick, jerking movements to find an exit. She repeated the same seiken, but this time, loose stone toppled down on them.

It was a quick moment really, and the monster was knocked out. Probably not dead, but it would buy them enough time to think of an escape. More rock crumpled down on Zidane, and he groaned, getting knocked in the head again.

"That's a definite concussion…" He grumbled, trying to stand. Dagger made a hasty attempt to steer him clear of the monster, laying motionless (for now) on the ground.

"Beatrix, that was phenomenal!" Freya praised with a rare grin. She tipped her hat down over her eyes, though her pearly white teeth shined with radiance and enough glee to show she was pleased with the turn out.

The woman collapsed onto her knees in a huff. "Oof! I forgot _why_ I don't do that anymore!" But the smile on her face said she agreed with Freya, surprising even herself.

"Steiner and Marcus are still out cold…" After all of them regrouped at the far end of the dungeon, they took a look at their options. Dagger quietly worked on a few raise spells in an attempt to wake the two men up, and the others gave her the space she needed.

"There's no way we're getting through the _door_…" Blank said, pointing to it. "And there's no way in hell I'm going down that sketchy hallway!" It seemed Zidane wasn't the only one who noticed the dark corridor behind the monster.

"That's probably where it came from… It's best we don't venture in there…" Beatrix nodded in agreement.

"But then… where?" Zidane asked in frustration, clutching his head between his knees.

"Nowhere, friends…"

All of them jumped as the metal-enforced door swung open across the room. There, none other than Lysandra stood in front of them, her arms spread wide.

"What are you doing here?! How did you find us?!" She let on a small, lopsided smile of embarrassment.

"Why don't we get you out of here first…? I never intended for you to fall into this pit, but it seems you were too distracted by the monsters to realize the mirrors would show you what to do."

"You _knew_?!" Blank's eyes widened in shock, and he knew he spoke for everyone else in his question. "You knew we were stuck down here? You knew that everything would come after us if we touched those two mirrors? You knew we were struggling in here?" The redhead's emerald eyes, though they couldn't be seen, were sure to be as wide as saucers. "And you didn't bother to help?!"

"I'm helping now, aren't I?" She asked, her brow raised, lip curled back in arrogance and defense. "If you don't wish to come with me, rot in the dungeon –"

"We're coming!" Beatrix and Dagger said hastily.

"Why?" Steiner whispered. Though he had missed the whole fight, and was battling back quite the headache, he wanted to know from her now, more than anyone else why she had decided to help them… Why had she led them here in the first place? He knew everyone else was thinking the same question.

"Your resistance…" She started, as they moved down the long hall, winding back up _into _the castle, "You would say anything to anyone, no matter who they appeared to be, to protect it, correct?"

They glanced around, all knowing very well how guilty they were of that in Dali.

"Please do not prosecute us for this decision… There is a life time of danger waiting out there for us… A lifetime of danger we hope to avoid…"

"I don't understand…" Steiner gestured to all of them. "What exactly are you hiding with these stories and lies?"

Lysandra stopped in the hallway, the murky sunlight seeping through the window. She gestured towards Dagger. "The mirrors, Dagger…"

She handed them over carefully. Lysandra connected the two, and just as before, the ominous sounds of enemies stalking quickly towards them filled their ears. Everybody visibly flinched.

The woman showed them the mirror, "I know, with so many things coming after you all… You wouldn't want to look back at what you discovered." Their eyes widened as they saw what was reflected in the two pieces of glass.

It was the same silvery crystal that made up the mirror, but with inscription on it – just as they'd seen etched into the stone when they entered the castle.

"_Do not be restricted by your knowledge and experience…"_ Steiner quoted, for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day. Apparently these words had a lot more meaning in Ipsen's castle than they all originally thought.

And then, the sound of clattering feet, of beating wings, and snarls of those who wished them gone, suddenly vanished.

"Let me show you something else…" The woman ushered them up the winding staircase at the end of the hall, and when they stepped into the next room, it was as though they had entered a completely different place.

The walls were lit up by grand candelabras, once ominous halls lined with carved statues, ivory pillars full of light, and beautiful red carpets. It looked vaguely familiar, yet different all at the same time.

She turned abruptly to her right and pushed open the large, heavyset door, chiseled from oak, with steel reinforcements nailed into it in delicate leaf patterns. In the room was the same large throne they'd seen before, with countless statues of who they believe were Ipsen, and countless other important people. There were desks and tables, and many people bustling about, who all stopped to stare at the newcomers.

"We use Ipsen's Castle as a sort of test… If you can make it through the castle and find our mirrors to help you escape, then you succeed… If you don't… Well – you saw the bodies down there. It's how we protect ourselves."

"How would putting people through this test protect you?" Blank asked, crossing his arms.

"Dagger…" She instead turned to the young girl, who stood at full attention. "When you had both mirrors in this room, did they speak to you…?"

She nodded, though it was very timid. "The mirrors of reveal and conceal? They were like magnets… they _wanted_ me to push them together."

"There are the two mirrors of reveal and conceal that we split into two, totaling to be four mirrors…" She held up the other two that she fished out of her pocket. "The reveal shows you the way, while it's other half shows us what your true intensions are… The conceal hides the castle in all of its gloom and riddles, a thick haze settling around it, and conceals us so we can continue in the castle as we please, while you try to find your way in the tricks."

"I'm confused…" Zidane said, tilting his already-dizzy head. "So you were here, all this time?"

"It's almost like two dimensions… Just take my word for it – the explanation will confuse you further…"

The blonde slowly nodded, unsure if she was serious or not.

"You fought the last stand of Ipsen's castle – Taharka… The beast in the dungeons… It will not kill who is _good_."

"Then how do you explain why it almost killed _us_? If you can see that we mean you no harm, and that we really _are_ against Kuja with the mirrors, why have us fight a monster who wants to _kill_ us?!"

"There are all things you are not proud of in life, correct?" She shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal. "The Taharka does not feed off of good and bad by the _war's_ standards… Just by your morals, and how you see your past mistakes… But…" She grinned, "You must ultimately be good because… he _didn't _kill you, did he?"

All of them stopped and pondered this for a moment.

"So he is not dead?"

Lysandra laughed and shook her head, "Taharka may never die… We still do not know much about him, besides that he is the protector of the mirrors, and Ipsen's Castle's last defense against intruders…"

"Tell us more about Ipsen's castle… If it is not upside down anymore," Freya gestured to the outside, a bright sunlight glittering on the friendly stone floors, "and the sun shines outside… Where did the riddles and thick mist come from?"

"That story I repeated to you about Ipsen's castle was not true… A man from the elemental shrine was indeed here, but his curse was really the blessing… The painstaking riddles and the blinding mist are _protection_. We cannot see each other… so how could Kuja?"

A grin suddenly spread across every newcomer's face. "Impressive," Amarant praised. Even he was clearly awed.

"This is a lot to take in…" Zidane groaned, collapsing to the ground on his butt, holding his head tightly in his hands. He didn't really think it had occurred to anyone yet that he might be having some _actual_ trouble, and just blamed it on fatigue, but his mind was so dizzy and far away that he didn't have the sense to say anything either.

Steiner stepped forward, his eyes wide and guarded, "My father?"

Lysandra's eyes went downcast, and she opened her mouth before shutting it again, unsure of what to say. She did this a few more times before finally, she glanced up at him. "They found him here, injured and wounded after a fight with Taharka… They got him out, healed him as best they could but at that time… We didn't have the right materials… or any medicine…" She sighed, "Your father was limited… In no way did he have the strength to physically go back to Alexandria, and we all figured he didn't have the heart to bestow that kind of an ache in his three sons… He had been gone for so long… He thought…" She sighed and straightened, rushing out the story, "Maybe it would be better to just let it go…"

"What?" Steiner muttered, his voice barely audible.

"He loved you, and he wrote you letters every day… But his hands-" she held her own up as though that would help him understand. "They didn't work either… It wasn't eligible… He barely got through a paragraph in a few hours… He did not want you to know he was still alive, and living in this painful position."

"How long ago did he die?"

"We don't know the reason he died…"

"_How long?!_" Steiner demanded, grinding his teeth together.

The woman sighed, rubbing at her own misty eyes. "A couple of months after we saved him from the castle…"

"And nobody sent word?!" He yelled at her, slamming his fist against the wall. It was a weaker hit than one would expect from the knight. Tears stung at his own eyes, and Beatrix took a step back, covering her mouth with her hand. She'd never seen him cry.

"We didn't know where he lived… We didn't know where he wanted us to send it. The last letter you received was brought by moogle, was it not?" It was true… Steiner didn't move to reply. "For a very, _very_ long time, we tried to decipher what had happened to his three sons… and… we couldn't."

The man closed his eyes, struggling to keep his composure. All these years he didn't know anything about the way his father died, and now these people tell him that he'd been wondering for far too long. He turned away, only to see Nathaniel standing in the doorway, having heard the whole thing.

"And you didn't bother to contact me…" He muttered.

His older brother didn't say a word.

"_Even_ after Alexander had died! Even after that and you knew I had _nothing_ left! You didn't bother to contact me! You didn't want to tell me that you were okay! That you found out about Father! That you –"

"You didn't bother with me either!" He shouted, eyes glaring daggers into his brother.

"I did it to keep you safe!" Finally, the tears spilled over in Steiner's eyes. The strong knight, who always stood at attention and always kept his armor on incase of a battle, finally broke down. For the first time since his father had abandoned them… the first time in twenty-four years… The knight finally broke down. "I did it… so Kuja couldn't find you, wherever you had gone."

A sinking feeling suddenly gurgled in Nathaniel's stomach. Again, all these years had gone by, and Adelbert was still one step ahead of his brother, five years his superior.

Lysandra's eyes swept from one to the other. Brothers? They had _another_ brother? Nathan had never spoken about his family… If Steiner and him were brothers that meant that Nathan's father was –

She stopped, closing her eyes. What a mess…

Steiner moved silently from the room. He swept by his brother and disappeared into the castle again. This time, nobody followed him.

"Way to go." Beatrix told him, acting more Dagger's age than her own. Her informal language, and the prissy toss of her hair sent them back to when they were much younger, and had only just met. She stormed out of the room as well, but whether she followed Steiner or not wouldn't be known.

"Come… Let us bring you to the feast tonight… You need your rest…" Lysandra quickly bustled everyone out of the room, not saying anything to Nathan as she passed either.

* * *

"What do you miss the most?" Lysandra jumped. While she thought she was going to be sneaking up on him, it seemed, he knew she was there all along.

His eyes were staring up at the sky, shrouded again by the protective mist. It was more calming than it was before, knowing the likeliness of them being discovered at this point was slim in the valley, and understanding that the mist was there on purpose.

She decided not to play dumb, and walked leisurely over to him, sitting on the ground next to him. "The most? I'd have to say… The stars…"

"The stars?" He turned to her, his eyebrows raised in shock.

She nodded, "It's comforting to hear the sound of water… to breathe in the scent of flowers, or even be in an open prairie field but… Nothing is more relaxing and calming than being able to look up, no matter where you are, and see twinkling, guiding lights in the sky above you…"

"That's a good way to look at it," he told her, smiling.

"Being stuck under a mist is like being stuck under a constantly cloudy day. It's dreary and kind of sad…" She sighed, snaking her arms around herself for comfort, "But with the mist so close, sometimes it feels like a cage… Like I've been underground for too long, and just want to go out and see the stars and the sun on a regular basis… Do you understand what I mean?"

"I do…" He nodded, blonde bangs falling in front of his eyes. "I really do…"

"You can't sleep?" She asked him.

He smirked a lopsided grin, "I can't…" He tapped his head lightly. "Dagger found out a couple of hours ago that I had a concussion… Took her long enough!" He let out a soft chuckle, "But she won't let me go to bed, even though she passed out a long time ago…"

The woman didn't say anything, simply stared upward, trying to squint – to see any sort of light.

For a long moment, they sat in silence. "You like her…"

"What?" He asked, a blush creeping up his face. Yeah, he didn't generally try and hide the fact that he cared about Dagger more than he should, but he didn't think a total stranger could figure that out.

Lysandra turned to smile at him lightly. "The Princess… You like her…"

"Ahh…" Well he was caught, might as well live up to it. "Yes, I do…"

"You love her…" She observed again, a wider grin on her face this time. It was weird how approachable she'd become – far less arrogant and pushy – after they'd completed their challenge in Ipsen's Castle to find the mirrors.

Zidane smiled, staring at the sky. "I think I do, yes…"

"That must be nice…"

"You love Nathan, don't you? Steiner's brother?" He'd overheard some other people talking about it when he'd been wondering the halls earlier, trying to find a peaceful spot to rest when he couldn't go to sleep.

She let out a sigh, and closed her eyes. It was silent again, and they heard the rare chirp of a cricket not too far away. "I do… But sometimes, I wish he didn't know that."

"What do you mean?"

"He would do anything for me…"

"Isn't that what you're supposed to do?"

She smiled. "It is… And you have a good head on your shoulder, and a pure heart in your chest to think so… But I wouldn't have him do it…" She stared at him, suddenly very serious, her black hair falling over her shoulder as she turned in his direction. "I will die someday, Zidane… It won't be of natural causes… It was my birthright to begin to lead this place, and I know that will get me killed, whether I decide to rally a group and join your cause or not…"

"Well that's kind of a bad way to look at it," He argued gently.

She shook her head. "No… It's not…" She smiled, "I've heard of you, you know…" She changed the subject momentarily.

"What?"

"We may live in a pile of rocks, but I've heard of the escaped dreamers… I was not completely arrogant when you stepped out on my threshold… It seems to me, that you don't have very good chances of survival either."

"Ahh…" He chewed on his lip for a moment, before offering her a shrug to which she laughed. "You got me."

"But this is the reason I do not wish for Nathan to love me…"

It slowly started to click together in the teenager's mind, what she spoke of.

"I do not wish for him to deal with the loss… I don't want him to be upset when I'm gone. Even though I know he would be, I think it would hurt a little less, if he didn't know I loved him… because then he would have never openly admitted he loved me back."

"I think that your theory is flawed."

She glanced at him with a startled look. Her own words took her into a daze – a sad one, full of realization and future. But with his words, she was surprised. How could someone in a worse situation than she, be optimistic about something as weary as love?

"I think that you wouldn't have a reason to go out there and sacrifice your life if it wasn't for love. If you didn't love your family, who was here before you… and love the people you grew up with, and the people you're now close to… Why would you want to put your life on the line? There wouldn't be anything to live for…"

"But then they wouldn't suffer."

"With suffering comes great joy…" He shrugged, "At least, that's what I always thought _and_ experienced. I think it's better to let someone know how you feel, and then see where it takes you… Sometimes, that could save their life, or vise versa…"

She stared at him for a while, watching as he nonchalantly leaned back on the palms of his hands and smiled up at the mist.

"What do you see when you smile to the heavens?" She asked lightly.

"I imagine the stars… It's been a long time… But I know that behind the mist and the clouds and the sadness in this world, they're still shining – waiting for those who appreciated them once upon a time to come back and do it again…"

They fell silent, listening to the wind blow gently against the canyon around them. Along with the lone chirping of the cricket, the breeze sounded like a simple harmony, gently playing around them in a battered requiem.

"Those starts are your loved ones…" She told him, and this time, he locked eyes with her. "I see it in your face… Dagger and the redhead – Blank. The Bermecian, Freya was it? I see Marcus and that chubby one on your team –Cinna, right?- and I see love for Vivi, the other dreamer, and even Beatrix and Steiner. I see the sparkle in your eyes that go hand in hand with your fondness for people that I've never even met… And I think that's how you still see the stars through all of clouded messes in this world…"

He tilted his head, a slow smile spreading on his face. "I guess that's true…"

"And since you have stars, you want to keep them safe?"

"You have no idea…"

"I agree with you, Zidane Tribal…" She smiled, standing up and bending down over him. "That if we didn't tell others how we felt, our shells wouldn't be full of a soul to carry out the purpose we end up dying for…" She nodded, "You make sense when you speak of that…"

"But?" He winked at her, knowing it was coming.

"That doesn't mean, that people with such awful chances of survival should hold back the ones we love."

"What do you mean?"

'I may love Nathan… And he knows that… But we aren't permanent. We sit up until the late hours of the morning, lost in the moment, wishing that we could stay together… But we never make promises to each other… He is not 'mine', and I'm not 'his'."

"But you –"

"He has the option. He will someday still be hurt if I die –when I die- but I told him long ago that he should forget about me… Someday, he'll have to, don't you think?"

"I don't think you're going to be dying any time soon…" He smiled, "That's what we're here for… To stop people from dying."

"I wish I was brave like you, Zidane…" She told him honestly. Someone ten years younger than she was more courageous than everyone she knew put together.

"You are brave… What you're doing is brave."

"Not quite like you though…" She pulled him up and heard the crinkling of the grass beneath her. She felt the dew on the back of her pants, and Lysandra figured it was probably getting late. "Give Dagger a choice…"

"You're asking me to kind of… dump her?"

She shrugged, "I think you should tell her what your heart says… But I think you should never trap someone into a commitment with the times of war and death… Please don't look down on me because of my views… It's just… too easy to hurt people."

"Believe me – this isn't the first time I've mulled over telling her that."

The woman smiled, "I'm glad I met you…"

"We're going to be leaving this area soon, aren't we?"

She nodded, "I'm holding a meeting tomorrow morning for those who want to fight… Our departure will hopefully be soon after."

"Are you nervous?"

"Beyond belief… But I'll manage… Come find me tomorrow, I have something for you and Vivi…" She waved at him. "Have a good night, Zidane…" But before he could reply, she was gone.

* * *

**A/N: So that conversation was a little harder than I originally thought it was going to be. I know their time in Ipsen's castle seems **_**way**_** too short, but trust me… I've got nothing else planned for it, so it would be a long boring stretch nobody wants to listen to.**

**I edited this like five times to make sure it was understandable and realistic. You guys should be flattered – I hardly ever read over my chapters even once **** This is a big deal!**

**Thanks to everyone who's still sticking with me!**

**-zesty-**


	57. Chapter 56: Something Useful

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 56: Something Useful**

The blonde waited patiently, Vivi on the other side of the room during the meeting, just like he was instructed to by the man who woke him up this morning.

He'd fallen asleep on the training grounds, trying in vain to stay alert like Dagger had told him. The man shook him awake on his daily patrol, and immediately, the shivering blonde went straight to the kitchen for something hot.

The man then continued to explain that Lysandra wanted to see him and Vivi as soon as the meeting with her people was over… And just like that, the conversation was over – just like the night before – with none of his questions answered.

Freya and Fratley sat closest to him. Fratley's fingers were was around Freya's, while her thumb stroked his skin absent mindedly. They were so private, and yet so obviously in love that it didn't add up to the blonde. Zidane smiled dumbly at them then, still staring. He supposed it didn't have to understand.

Freya's bored eyes landed on him, and he blatantly looked away, still grinning, making it very obvious that he was up to no good. She shook her head at him, but it was so slight that he almost missed it. His grin soon turned into a sly smirk, and for several minutes the two stared at each other, coy smiles on their faces as they tried to get the other to laugh first.

Then, the Bermecian did the most uncharacteristic thing: she actually stuck her tongue out at Zidane, and he erupted in a howl of laughter. The whole room jerked towards him, staring wildly in just a few seconds, and that had _both_ of them bursting with giggles. He tried in vain to turn his laughs into coughs, and then sat up straight.

"Sorry… uhm… went down the wrong… pipe…" He blinked, unsure of what else to say, Freya's quiet and breathy laugh too close to him to be serious. He bit down on the corners of his lips to prevent another smile from breaking out, "Continue."

He then tried to pay attention to the meeting. Lysandra was talking about Kuja, and the threats that he was now posing world wide. Many of the regular citizens of Ipsen's Valley didn't get that information – only the most talented leaders of the village, though looking around, the blonde had to say that that was a_ lot_ of people.

The woman had told them that Ipsen's castle, and the valley around it was like a safe haven. It was a place where many skilled fighters, magic users and everything in between fled when the first reports of missing people splashed across the globe. The very finest out there realized what Kuja was doing almost before he started doing it, and swiftly made to dodge… Many people who were present in the meeting would have been obvious choices to become Dreamers… if Kuja had been able to find them.

"_I'm sorry about that, Kid…" _He remembered Baku's words that second night they had been back after Ipsen's castle, after Lysandra explained to the rest of the rebels why they put those protective spells over the region.

It had been a long day of working on the airship for him, and he wasn't in a particularly good mood (really when was Baku _ever_ in a good mood?) but he pulled Zidane aside and started their conversation like that.

"_What are you talking about?" He cocked his head to the side, eyes squinting as he scrutinized,, crossing his arms leisurely in front of his chest._

_Baku's eyes were almost pleading as he shifted uncomfortably. "I knew Kuja's plans to gather people to become Dreamers…" He wrung at his hands and shuffled his feet as he began the story._

_Zidane had no idea where this conversation was going._

"_I had heard rumors you know… Rumors about him abducting really powerful warriors and what not… And I still sent you and Blank to Treno alone…"_

"_What's your point?" The genome asked him, confusion filling his face. "Why is that your fault?"_

_He was quiet now, and even more uncomfortable than before, "It's just… I ruled Tantalus out so quick… I had said to myself – I said '_there's no way any of my boys could be that good… No way Kuja would want one of them!' _but he did… and he got you, 'cause of my mistake…" There was silence as a shocked Zidane took in his words, before Baku's fist lashed out and slammed into the wall beside them. "Fucking jackass!"_

"_Baku…" Zidane sighed. "It's not your fault… We were all so young –"_

"_That's not an excuse…" He shook his head, "I promised myself after we got to your location too late… I promised I would take those things more seriously… And I will… No matter where I am, or what stupid kids I'm with, I won't make that same mistake again. I'm just so sorry it took you going through it to make me realize it…" His voice was gruff, and he sounded highly upset._

_Zidane clasped a hand on his shoulder with a grin on his face. He didn't like seeing his normally irritable and ill-tempered 'boss' in such turmoil. So he did the only thing he could think to do – something that he and the rest of Tantalus always silently and mutually agreed to do when things like this came up._

"_Are you going soft on us now, Baku?"_

_He immediately straightened and shrugged the teenager off. "Course I'm not!" He growled. But then his face softened just a little bit. "I know it doesn't seem like it… But all of us - myself included… we were heartbroken that day… And well…" He scratched the back of his head, wrinkling his nose so his beard danced a little. Zidane's smirk grew upon seeing this signature, sheepish move on his leader's part. "I just wanted to say that… didn't mean to go all soft."_

"_Thank you…" Zidane told him genuinely, "That really means a lot…"_

_Baku gave him one nod, and made a hasty excuse to book it away from him, too embarrassed to hold a normal conversation after that._

Being called on to fight was tempting to a surprising amount of villagers… and though Steiner and Beatrix wished for as many people to come who wanted to, Dagger understood when Lysandra gave her a pleading expression, saying they did still need people to protect the children, and protect the civilian society whom they dwelled with.

The woman was relaying all of the information about the dreamers – Zidane and Vivi included – Alexandria's castle and their army. And the details from Terra were especially useful in swaying a lot of them. It didn't take long before the meeting was less informational and more like a pep rally. People were cheering and screaming and itching to get on with the next stage of the rebellion… something that the majority of the visiting resistance was happy to comply to.

Nathan sat skeptically next to Lysandra, his arms crossed over his chest, his brows knitted together in frustration. He was obviously not very happy that so many were interested in leaving their village, but his lips were clamped together so tight, that upon observation, even newcomers knew he wouldn't say a word of this to the woman standing next to him.

"When do we leave!?" A man called from the back of the excited room.

"We are aiming for a week so we can get everyone's supplies together!"

Zidane's shoulders dropped. When he'd last talked to the woman, she had said hopefully in the next few days, but then he thought about how disorganized it was when everyone fled from Dali in such a short amount of time, and figured maybe a week to get everyone situated wouldn't be a bad idea. Plus, he had doubts that the airship was completely finished anyways.

He just wanted to get going… Though it was a pretty cool place, and an awesome change of atmosphere from the forest by Conde Petie, being across the ocean was unsettling to him for more than one reason.

Plus, he had an unnerving feeling forming in the very pit of his stomach that was making him itch to move to a different location. Somehow, he felt that Kuja wasn't following them, but _something_ was happening… something that was going to hurt them… a great number of them…

"Ready Zidane?" He was torn from his drifting thoughts at Lysandra's voice, the woman casually leaning against the table. Her posture was almost leisurely compared to when she had been giving her speech.

He hadn't noticed how much time had gone by since his little encounter with Freya earlier, and he nodded, "Are we just talking here?" He spotted Vivi making his way over to the duo, abandoning his earlier spot in the room.

"Here is fine," she answered vaguely, and he narrowed his eyes.

"What's this about?"

"I wanted to talk to you…" She bit her lip, "About the dream world."

He blinked a little in confusion. "Dream Alexandria?" He tilted his head, knowing he spoke for both Vivi and himself. "Why would you want to know about that?"

"Our enemies will be the dreamers you became so close to in Alexandria, am I correct?" She questioned instead of really answering him.

"Well I mean…" He shrugged, "It'll be people, but I don't know if _any_ of my friends in the dream world were real or not…" He choked up a little, continuing in a mumble, "Except Elouise."

"Kuja's spell on them is pretty tough…"

"Spell?" Vivi blinked, eyes shining, baffled.

"Would they work for Kuja otherwise?" She asked him back, running a hand through her cropped hair.

"Yeah…" Zidane nodded, "I've never really thought about it like that before, but it makes total sense. There's no way they'd just openly work for Kuja! Especially if they knew what he was doing!"

"Do you think maybe he's just lying?" Vivi threw out there.

"It's possible…" the woman nodded, "but he'd have to be one damn good liar to get so many to believe him about the Alexandria they lived in being torn apart…"

The black haired woman said nothing for a moment after her statement, just ran her fingers absentmindedly over her lips. Then her eyes suddenly locked back on Zidane, the one that wasn't hidden behind the eye patch a bright, piercing color. "Do you recall the mirrors that Dagger and Amarant found in Ipsen's Castle?"

"Who could forget," he mumbled, rubbing his head begrudgingly.

She gave a sheepish smile and shrugged, "Vivi, how about you? Do you know of anyone in the dream Alexandria who is real? Do you recall the mirrors?"

He shrugged, suddenly becoming extremely shy. "I didn't have many friends… Nobody liked talking to me because I looked like the mean black mages…" Her eyes immediately softened hearing his short story. "But yeah, I remember the mirrors too."

She pulled from the pouch secured around her waist said mirrors, gesturing for Zidane to hold out his hands.

"This is what I wanted to show you…" She smiled a little at the both of them. "These mirrors each have very powerful qualities. Two reveal, and two conceal… Together they show the truth… But when all four are together…"

The two waited on in high anticipation. Just where was she going with this story?

"No magic spell has ever been able to resist these mirrors…" She sighed, answering their unspoken question. "Normally, we save these for emergency measures incase we were attacked…"

"But then why are you giving them to us?" The mage asked, staring up with wide, grateful, yet astonished eyes.

"You see, little one, if we are to jump into Kuja's fray," she shrugged, "we're going to help in any way that we can. If you can get the dreamers out of their trance, then it'll be easier to defeat Kuja!"

Zidane's sapphire eyes shined with respect. "That's a huge favor," he commented, to which she simply laughed.

"What can I say? Your group of rebels has impressed me…"

Zidane smirked, pride swelling for his friends, "Don't be telling me that…" He shook his head, "They aren't mine to lead."

"Even so, the two of you give the others hope… Even the most irritable of them, such as Steiner, look to you for the source of their outcome in this war… They look at you as the hope of winning."

The genome chuckled and scratched the back of his neck, eyes darting around the room. "Ahhh… no pressure or anything." The woman only returned a grin.

Before they could continue the conversation, Beatrix, Steiner, Dagger, and a couple others filed into the room, guided by the same man who had awoken Zidane earlier in the morning.

"That brings us to the next thing on our agenda…" The woman nodded, stepping aside to allow the others room to sit. "As you may or may not already know, Kuja has been very thorough on enforcing the 'papers to enter the cities' rule."

Steiner slapped his forehead. "Why didn't we remember that before we left?! We won't be able to get in –"

"Calm yourself, Steiner…" She smiled at him, chuckling a little bit. "That's why I bring it up…" She held up a large, thick envelope. "Within the next week, we're hoping to fill out papers for each of you, so that you can get into the proper cities… We are one of the few groups left who have access to this sort of thing. Some of us still travel from time to time, and it's very important that they look like the real thing. But some of you will need different names –" she let on a foxy expression –"some of your names are just too memorable for your own good."

"We wouldn't have been able to come up with something like that," Beatrix thought out loud, "We've been out of any major cities for so long…"

"We're here to help you," Lysandra reminded her, dropping the envelope on the table with a loud _smack_. "But I'll need as much information on each member of your team as possible… Speaking to everyone would be best, but it might take a lot of time… If I could have a couple of you sit down with me before we start the process and just go over the basic facts about your teammates that you know…"

Dagger nodded, "I can help you with that…"

"So can I," Beatrix said too, glancing at the young girl, who shot her a grateful smile in return. "It'll be faster that way."

"Perfect!" The woman nodded curtly, "It's a date! Steiner, I was hoping that perhaps you, Baku, and Beatrix would be able to help familiarize my people with your fighting skills. I feel like it's going to be a _lot_ faster back at your base to fight together if we already know some basics."

"We would be honored to help," Steiner answered quickly, not waiting for the others to speak. "Anything we can do besides sitting for the next week would be grand."

She smirked, "Good. I think that about does it then, you're free to do what you will… Just let me know what time you'd like to get these tasks started so I can spread the word to everyone else."

"As soon as possible, I say!" Baku cheered, slapping Marcus on the back, before they started to make their way out. The others began following suit.

"Oh, Vivi?" Lysandra called to the mage.

Zidane and Vivi stopped and turned, watching the woman suddenly become fidgety and nervous. "I was wondering if you would do me a huge favor…"

"S-sure…" He shrunk back a little bit – something he always did when people asked something of him. He was never sure if he'd be able to complete the request or not.

"You know a great deal of black magic?"

"I guess so…" He shrugged, staring at the floor.

"Are you kidding?" Zidane smirked and ruffled Vivi's hat awkwardly, trying to pretend it was hair. It slid forward on his face, covering his eyes. "Vivi knows _tons _of stuff! I mean, anything from elemental spells to bio to, to –"

"Zidane! Stop making them seem better than they are," he groaned shyly, and they were sure that if they could see his face, he would be blushing.

"No, Vivi, that's perfect!" The woman praised. "I was wondering if maybe… you could help teach me."

His eyes shot up in surprise. "You know black magic?!"

"I'm very old fashioned…" She shrugged, "I've been the last mage here for a long time, so I haven't had the chance to learn any new spells… When I heard that you were a mage too, I was hoping maybe you'd be able to assist me."

"Of course!" He smiled, "I would love to… Though I don't know how good of a teacher I am."

"You'll do great, Vivi…" Zidane told him with a laugh. He crossed his hands behind his head and meandered out. "See you two later!"

"Bye," The black mage shook his head, watching his carefree friend wander out the door.

* * *

The vibration of the thunder rattled everything in the room. Even in the depths of the hallways, the lightning flashed, igniting everything in a white fire for just a moment, before fading away, enveloping everything in blackness again.

The light show reflected off of everything in her line of sight. Every little trinket put in too specific of a place – too neat for someone to _actually_ be living there – for more comfort, no doubt, clattered noisily.

She sighed, sitting up in bed, her hair falling behind her back. Chocolate eyes scanned the room as it temporarily lit up again. She held her breath in the darkness, waiting for the next flash of light.

The girl rubbed the side of her face, her soft hand sliding against her smooth skin. It felt dirty and stressed, and she groaned, falling back into the billows of blankets once again.

Sleep wouldn't take her, no matter how long she let her mind wander in the storm. She wasn't used to the violent light arousing her eyes every few seconds, due to her room being underground at home, and never had she experienced a lightning storm quite like this one while she stayed in the trees.

Dagger flopped onto her side, legs curled loosely towards her body, her arms slumped out awkwardly at her side. She rolled again, staring at the empty ceiling, one hand absent mindedly coiling around her garnet pendent that proved her birth right – the most important thing her mother had left her with that day almost thirteen years ago.

Her finger rubbed against the edge that she had snapped off, and a smile lingered on her lips. She had broken the necklace in two, and dropped the other half around Zidane's neck. She had been looking anywhere but his face when she made him promise to bring it back to her.

As soon as her thoughts turned to the blonde boy, her lips turned into a frown, and her eyebrows creased. She wished he could have been there with her, but it was too late to seek him out after the grueling time dwelling on everyone's personal histories with Lysandra for the papers.

She guessed he had wandered off shortly after the meeting was over, because nobody around the stone halls had seen him. And now, it would be foolish to go looking for him.

Her eyelashes brushed her cheekbones as she let her chocolate orbs flutter shut. She listened to the rain pelt down far away, adjusted to just a pitter-patter this far into the stone. The boisterous thunder rumbled again, but it calmed her now, with Zidane in her thoughts.

She continued to clutch the necklace as she thought of the boy. There was the ever-lingering terror that he would be gone soon, laying, waiting, in the pit of her stomach, ready to explode at any moment. But she pushed those thoughts away and tried to focus on his smile, and the way his lips felt against her, or even the way she felt, wrapped up in his strong, familiar arms.

There were so many private moments that had occurred between them. They were moments from when the resistance wasn't quite in order, and times she had spent faithfully by his side as he healed. Even before he had departed for Terra, they would sneak away for simple moments. He would slip his hand into hers under the table at breakfast, only a few resistance members dwelling in the room, or a compliment would pass between the two of them after training, meaning so much more than words could muster.

Sometimes even after meetings, she'd be walking down the claustrophobic halls, eager to get out into the warm sun, when he'd swoop down from the overhead pillars and capture her in his arms, trying to shush her giggles. She and he were no secret, and yet, the little moments they had together went mostly unnoticed.

Just as thoughts of Zidane were about to wisp her away, there was a pressure on the mound of comforters below her, and her eyes fluttered back open. She wasn't startled, for the most part anyways, and immediately calmed when, in a flash of lightning, she saw Zidane's ridiculously happy face.

"Zidane!" She gasped, sitting up.

"Did I wake you?" He whispered, even though she was sure no one else would hear them.

"No, no… I haven't been able to sleep…" She patted the bed next to her, and he crawled closer, situating himself against the wall, and pulling her towards him. She leaned against him, staring up at his face.

His eyes were sharp in color, even in the darkness, and his pearly white teeth stood out against the shadow of his face.

"How was forging papers?" He mumbled to her, brushing his lips against her hair.

Dagger was instantly comforted by the gesture, and already felt drowsier than she had in the previous few hours. "It was…" For the lack of a better word, she shrugged, "Boring."

He let out a light laugh, "I can't say that was a task I would have volunteered for…"

"You wouldn't have volunteered for anything, you lazy bum," she teased, her voice slurring in sleepiness.

"You sound tired…" He started to shift, "Maybe I should go."

"Don't leave…" She mumbled to him, knowing very well that her voice sounded pleading.

"I wouldn't want Rusty coming in and getting the wrong idea…"

She felt more awake after her mind processed the implied meaning he had made, and she smiled up at him, a spark in her eyes. "Let him assume…"

He raised an eyebrow, "You're more tired than you think!"

"I'm perfectly fine," she told him, stretching up stubbornly to give him a hard kiss. Anything to make him stay. He chuckled and shifted, causing her to fall back to her place in his lap.

"Dagger –"

"Please…" She mumbled, turning over and snuggling into his chest, "stay here."

He smiled a heart wrenching smile. They wouldn't have a lot of time left together – that much he knew for sure. He was already going to break her heart leaving, and probably in more ways than that… So he owed her this, didn't he?

"Okay," he told her, his voice strong. "I'll stay…"

She leaned up again and pressed her lips lightly into his. At first, it was meant to be chaste, before Dagger too, realized the information Zidane had already thought of. They didn't have much time left.

Suddenly, she pushed closer to him, almost clinging to his body, feeling as though she needed to be closer to him, though she was right up against him. His arms snaked around her waist and hugged her tight. Their minds raced as fast as their hearts, both wanting to stay in this moment forever.

Finally, the duo broke apart for air, and panted for breath. Both grinned stupidly at each other, and Dagger even let out a little giggle.

"What are you laughing at?" Zidane asked her, a chuckle in his own voice. Her contagious laughter came from the high they felt when they were together.

"Nothing…" She rolled off of him, and stared, blinking slowly.

"You look tired," he commented again, lying down next to her, just so he could be close to her face again.

She pulled the rugged blanket up over the both of them, and felt the shivers when he pulled her into his arms. "But you don't."

"I'm not," he informed her, a smile still plastered on his face.

"What can I do to make you tired?"

He thought for a moment. Nothing in the world would make him want to leave Dagger like this – if he had his way, he'd stay awake forever, to hold her, watch her sleep safely and happily, or just talk to her.

But then he recalled the one time he went looking for her after a particularly hard training day, all the way back to when they were in Dali. The long weeks they spent sneaking glances at each other, and asking around casually to see where the other was… Zidane wanted to seek her out, using the 'dinner's ready' excuse.

He found her by the babbling creek, sitting with her boots at her side, feet dipped in the stream. She swirled her toes in the water, creating a break in the rhythm. The wind blew her long hair, loose from her sky blue clip, around her face.

But the sight of such a relaxed rebel girl wasn't what stopped him dead in his tracks. Her voice rang out in a little tune, humming just above the chirps of the bugs relaxing by the water. Her whole being swayed lightly with her song, and he could have stood there listening to her hum it forever.

Even the memory made him smile, his whole body relaxing into the pillows and blankets around him. "Sing," he told her lightly.

"Sing?" She asked.

"Err…" His eyes widened a little bit, sleep cowering away from him again as his cheeks burned pink, though she couldn't see it in the unstable darkness. "Hum…"

"Hum what?" She questioned, confusion ringing out in her voice.

"Well… Way back in Dali, I heard you humming… a lullaby maybe?"

It was her turn to blush. "Oh… That song."

"What was it?" He asked her gently, pushing some hair out of the way of her eyes, before settling his arm around her again.

"I don't even know where it came from… It was a song from a very long time ago… And somehow I still remember the tune of it, and sing it to make myself feel better…"

"Sing it for me now," he seemed to beg, closing his eyes. "I'll be good, I promise."

She was hesitant for a moment, but shut her eyes as well, listening to the rain drops so far away. Slowly, her voice rose into the tune, and she began to hum the melody from her past.

Soon, both of their thoughts tangled around each other, and Zidane was swept off into a world where he and those close to him lived in their own perfect little forever – no worries around to trouble them.

* * *

**A/N: So kind of just a relaxed ending – I hope you all enjoyed it! I'm getting out of the Ipsen's Castle arc and I am EXCITED! Next stop will be more exciting – I promise! :)**

**Please leave some love, I'm so excited about this story!**

**-zesty-**


	58. Chapter 57: Onward Into the Unknown

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 57: Onward Into the Unknown**

"We'll be ready to take off in about an hour!" Cinna happily reported to Baku and Steiner, who stood at attention in front of him. "She's all fixed up and ready to fly out of this pit!"

They both cringed. It wasn't as though Ipsen's Region wasn't interesting and secure… But they were growing tired of the compressing haze and stressful situations.

"I guess all we can do now is board everyone onto the ship, and try to find room for them!"

Baku nodded and jerked his thumb in the other direction, "I'm going to start revving her up! We all know it'll take her a while to get warmed up and ready to go!"

Steiner recalled the Tantalus' leader starting the ship when they took off from the forest region. It had puttered and spluttered and moaned and creaked until it reached the right altitude in the air, and he had to admit, it had unnerved him to say the least.

"Right, that's probably a good idea." Without another word, the knight was turned and swiftly moving towards the large ramp of the ship, watching as people already got on board, hoping to make themselves comfortable.

There weren't a lot of rooms available, let alone ready, on the ship, but there was enough space. Most of the resistance made their own beds on the wooden floors of the ship, looking more like shelters than actual bedrooms for the ones who usually occupied the space. Along side bedrooms, their meeting room, theatre room, and countless storage areas were also used by some excited and weary travelers.

Steiner stepped through the lush grass, and watched as Zenero helped direct a pair carrying too much stuff for their own good in the right direction once they reached the ramp. Marcus and Blank sparred near the ship, a crowd of new-comers standing by, watching the action.

He assumed that Beatrix, Freya and Fratley were around somewhere, still helping ready warriors for the most-likely new battle style. As far as the others, he had no idea where anyone was.

It wouldn't be long until they all had to be settled on the ship, and he wondered how rough the good-byes would be for the ones who were staying here. Mostly, it was civilians, and people who wished to stay and help protect if anything went wrong. There was a chance that those leaving would never come home…

Before Steiner could analyze the situation any further, he saw Lysandra emerge from the dense mist, a bag slung over her shoulder. Her grin was unmistakable, and she was chatting to nobody in particular in their large group headed for the airship.

Steiner's dark eyes caught his brother lingering behind them. He had no bags with him – not even a weapon. The former knight figured that his older brother wouldn't be going along to assist them… after all – he had told Steiner himself that he wouldn't fight with him.

Nathan spotted him soon enough, and even looking like he was dreading his pre-made decision, headed in his direction. Slow, deliberate steps were meant to make it seem more dramatic, and Steiner honestly had to stop from rolling his eyes.

"I guess this is goodbye…" Steiner said with a shrug.

"Probably for good if we're being perfectly honest," Nathan told him coldly.

Adelbert turned away slightly, though his eyes never left his last remaining family member. "I suppose so."

"I'll never forgive you if you let Lysandra die."

"It was her own choice to go with us, and to help us. I cannot help that you are not so brave."

Nathaniel was on the defensive in less then a second. "Don't you _dare_ try to tell me what I am and what I'm not."

"You do not show actions that tell me otherwise," Steiner shot back, cleverly and much more maturely. Both his father and Alexander had always said that Adelbert was wiser beyond even Nathaniel's years – that didn't make the latter very happy. "Besides… You have yet to forgive me for anything else."

"What you did was dirty."

"What I did was try to protect Beatrix… I cannot help the jealousy you felt that you still cling to after all these years."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you tried the same thing with Lysandra," he snarled, turning away.

Steiner sighed. This wasn't exactly how he foresaw his_ last_ conversation with his_ last_ brother ending. "I didn't stop to fight with you…" He clasped a hand on his brother's shoulder, despite the sudden rigidness he felt under his mythril glove. "I wish you the best of luck… I'm sorry that after all these years, I cannot give you a proper goodbye."

"Good luck to you too…" Steiner was surprised he even got that much from his brother. He wished that Nathan would tack on 'I hope you come back' but he knew that was too much to ask for. "Do not keep Lysandra and the rest of our people longer than you have to."

"Again, it is their choice to make…" He turned and started away before Nathaniel could argue with him. His brother was never a military general – nor was he ever cut out for the job… Steiner couldn't make him understand the situation, even if he tried.

He was, after all these years, getting closure on the dark parts of his family that had drifted away from him. He turned his back on the last living flesh and blood he knew, but Steiner also understood that he had another family to attend to as well. Cid and Beatrix, Dagger and Vivi, and all the others who counted on him and trusted him, needed him more than his brother wanted him… And that's all that mattered at that point.

Not too far in the distance, he spotted Beatrix sparring with a young man, probably around Dagger's age. His eyes were wide and excited, but his movements were not even close to elite. He could instantly tell that she was going easy on him. With Beatrix in his line of sight now, her actions preoccupying him, he felt the ever-lasting, judgmental gaze of his brother disappear in the mist.

The woman swiped her leg underneath her pupil's unsuspecting body, and he collapsed into the dewy grass. Immediately, she put her sword away and extended a hand to help him back to his feet.

"You're getting better…"

"That move gets me every time!" He quickly swiped a fist in a disappointed gesture in the air and heaved a sigh. "I'm never going to get over that."

"You just have to visualize your enemy from every angle – even below you where you think you're most stable…" She smiled, "Believe me, it comes with practice."

"If you say so," he shrugged.

She put her hands on his shoulders, a smile dancing on her lips. "You should probably go grab your things and get a good sleeping spot on the airship!" She laughed when his eyes lit up, and he galloped away in a hurry.

"You teach them well," Fratley told her with a grin. He tipped his feather hat up off of his eyes, while she rolled her milky, chocolate orbs at him.

"As well as they can be taught, anyways."

"They'll get better," Steiner encouraged, walking into the conversation.

Her eyes brightened at the sight of him, "Steiner, how was training?"

"It went well," he nodded. "We are also leaving soon."

"I heard," The Bermecian and brunette told him at once. "I'm going to find Freya," Fratley added with a wink, indicating that he was probably just leaving them alone.

"How are you really?" Beatrix asked as soon as they finished watching him walk away.

"I'm alright," his tone was vague as he stared back into the mist, his dark eyes searching for something - even he wasn't sure what.

She grabbed his hand for support and squeezed it. "Everything will turn out okay," she told him, and he stared back at her with a tender gaze. Beatrix had to be so optimistic for everyone these days. He recalled a year ago where she was ruthless and hard, and didn't let many people in besides Dagger and Cid. But the events as of lately had changed her – it had changed everyone… more so for the better.

"At least we aren't splitting up." He never meant to say it – the words literally slipped out of his mouth before he could clamp his teeth together and catch them. They both stared wide eyed at each other for a moment, before she let on a shy smile.

Beatrix slipped her other hand into his and stared at him. "We're lucky… That's just that much more time we will be able to spend with each other."

His lips twitched upward, and she knew to take it as a smile. How lucky was he, to have this woman supporting him?

"We should get going… It's going to get really crowded soon, and we should help out," He told her, before pulling her away, back towards the ship, because he honestly didn't have anywhere else to go but forward.

* * *

"The ride isn't going to be very much longer," Cinna informed the woman with the eye patch, who stood in awe behind him. How could someone so young be so technologically advanced?

"And what will we do when we land?"

The thief shrugged, "Everyone's going to need supplies… and if you stay on the airship, you'll be trapped if someone finds it."

"You think someone will?" She questioned, tilting her head to the side. Her eyebrow rose a little when she stared the chubby thief down, his ridiculous beard twitching when he smirked.

"I've got some preeeetty good navigation skills… but really it's just a precaution. Have you ever been anywhere but Ipsen's Region your whole life?"

She shook her head, "No, and many of my men have never been outside of the valley either… It's going to be interesting."

"It's not a vacation though, it's essential that you remind them of that fact…" Beatrix walked into the room, sheathing her sword as she did so. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and stared at them with hard eyes. "If they stray, they probably will be found by scouts and killed. And we won't be able to help them without starting a battle – something we're not, at this point, going to risk."

Lysandra nodded, flicking her own bob behind her ears. "I understand completely."

"Freya will lead you across the plains. She used to be our continental scout – she'll be able to find a safe path for you. You'll go straight to Qu's Marsh, and nowhere else."

"How will we hide from Kuja's forces for such a long time?" She asked him, skeptical.

"The Qu Marshes are the only places in the world Kuja doesn't care about… My guess is that he thinks that the Qus aren't intelligent enough to function under his rule, so he just leaves them alone," Cinna explained, "Quina has family in the marsh by Lindblum, so you'll be safe and provided for."

"No matter how appalling the food looks, make sure you eat it… Most of it is better than it looks," Beatrix added with a smile on her face.

"Most?" Lysandra mirrored, a worried expression over taking her face.

The two speaking with the commander snickered. Beatrix quickly straightened though, because she knew there was still so much more to be talked about. "We'll meet you in Qu's marsh after we're done in Lindblum… You and Freya will welcome and begin training any new recruits that we push in your direction… And you'll continue to do so when the Main Group and the Tantalus Troupe split and go to Treno and Bermecia. After we make our course in Dali, we'll loop back to the marsh and check in."

"A group of us will go get the airship and pick everyone up – it should be easy! Anyone who doesn't want to wait that long can take Fossil Rue back… We've got some people who've gone through there, and it's actually pretty simple!" Cinna nodded, keeping his eyes trained on the sky ahead of them.

"And this plan is going to work? Aren't you afraid of losing people? The Western portion of the mist continent is _not_ a small area…"

Both of them sobered, and Beatrix's eyes averted while she bit down hard on her lip. "We're hoping it won't come to that…" She said lamely, clasping her hands behind her back.

"There! Way off in the distance!" Marcus yelled, claiming the attention of everyone in the control room. "Do you see the tower?! It's Lindblum!"

Chatters arose around the room as everyone hopped up, weaving around other bodies, and clattering on top of the central chair to see what Marcus saw.

Taking Marcus' word, Cinna threw the wheel in the opposite direction, "Zenero! Prepare us for a landing!"

"Got it!" He yelled back, as the remaining Tantalus went to their positions on the control panel to help land the Prima Vista with ease.

"We're stopping all the way out here?"

"Trust me… We've got a plan…" Cinna winked, continually maneuvering the wheel.

The theater ship began to spin – it was slow and gradual – but instead of propelling forward, it continued in a downward spiral. "Get everyone ready!" A splay of people emptied out of the room, leaving it mostly empty, save for those who waited for an order, and those who tried to put the ship into the water safely.

"I've always wondered if the Prima Vista would be a fine navy ship!" Cinna laughed merrily, throwing the wheel around like he'd been doing it forever.

"Stop moving so much!" Baku ordered, "You're gonna make me puke!"

"You're such a baby!" Blank laughed from the control, flipping switches and levers – his eyes dancing across the controls too fast to follow.

"Shut your trap you dipshit!"

"And cranky!" Zidane added to the redhead's previous insult with a laugh.

An argument arose as the six of them bickered back and forth, trying to determine all of Baku's negative traits. He didn't have anything witty to say back to them.

It wasn't long until the creaking wood of the ship slammed into the water, a large wave rippling beneath them, splashing violently over the ship. It wavered back and forth, everyone in side stumbling like they'd had too much to drink.

It did this for a few moments, before the ship slowly halted. "Do you think it's safe to open the door?" Zidane asked, finally letting his death grip release from the metal counter of controls.

"I bet so…" Marcus answered, though he reluctantly smashed his palm into the blinking red button. The ship groaned miserably as the gears began turning to give them passage out into the ocean.

Freya entered, and through the doorway they could see the anxiety filled faces of her followers. "Everything alright?"

"We're good to go!" Marcus gave a thumbs up, and the Bermecian turned, her tail flicking against the archway.

Her eyes landed on Dagger. The young woman had her just-past-shoulder-length hair balled up in her red-hide gloves, before she let it swish down over her neck again. Sucking in a breath and gathering her energies, she produced a mass of bright light, illuminating from her palms.

Everyone 'oo'ed and 'aww'ed at seeing white magic for the very first time in their life. But the spell cast on them surprised them was even _more_ impressive. Slowly, their feet lifted from the ground, and they dangled helplessly in the air for a moment. Some cried out in panic, and others were too choked up with shock to scream.

And then, just like that, it was as though their feet were set on an invisible path, allowing them to float over the ground. The girl's chocolate eyes fluttered open and she smirked with satisfaction.

Lysandra's head jerked up and she stared wide eyed at the girl. "You weren't lying when you said you could do such things…"

Dagger shrugged a little _too_ innocently, "Why would I have to?" She laughed as Freya tested the waters (no pun intended) by leaping out the door, praying the levitation spell would keep the water beneath her. She really didn't feel like getting wet.

Everyone watched on in anticipation, holding their breath. The Bermecian fell almost gracefully towards the thrashing waters, but lingered a safe distance above. The spray lapped onto her boots, but she was otherwise unharmed.

"Alright!" She called up to the airship. Though she spoke to those who would be accompanying her, her eyes fell onto Fratley, having a silent conversation of her own. "For those who are to follow me: we move quickly! There will be no stops – Qu's Marsh does not reside too far away! The quicker we move, the less likely chance one of you will get picked off and killed! Let's move out!"

And with that, she turned and trotted away, having already wished Fratley luck and farewell with her sharp, ice-colored eyes. People stumbled out of the doorway after her, tripping on each other, but easily getting up again. Murmurs arose, and eyes darted over to neighbors to make sure they were floating too, and this wasn't just some crazy illusion.

Most were weary about running on the water, but seeing as though their Bermecian leader didn't have any problems, hesitantly, they began to mirror her movements. One by one, they fell into an easy line behind the woman, and were almost silent, as the new elites drifted off towards land.

Finally, all of them had escaped the airship when Baku heaved the anchor out the door. They watched it plummet into the water with a large _plunk_ before they were satisfied.

"Well…" Steiner cleared his throat, glancing at the most familiar faces to him in the resistance. "Are we ready to head into Lindblum?"

Dagger glanced at the thick envelope in her hands, containing the papers for those who were going to enter the city. "I sure hope so…"

"We'll be alright!" Zidane laughed, leaping off of the ship, "Besides, if we can't get in, we'll _sneak_!" Tantalus had no problems shooting after him.

"Sneak?" Vivi questioned, putting a hand to his cheek in worry. "I don't know how to do that… It sounds dangerous…"

"Dangerous is fun!" Eiko told him matter-of-factly, before she herself soared out of the opening. He watched in awe, unsure if the girl had just said that to seem braver than she really was, or if she honestly meant it.

The sun glared onto the water, making it nearly impossible to stare straight forward on the path. The water swayed beneath them, the rhythmic sound of rushing liquid soon falling into the background. The usual pitter patter of footsteps was silenced by the spell, and an eerie sort of stealth fell over all of them.

The biggest city they'd been in since before the war had really taken off, loomed ahead of them, growing ever-closer with each step they took. The wind rushed into Zidane's face, almost ushering him back to the ship where he'd be safe.

_Not for long though…_ the other half of his mind argued. _Kuja would come to find us eventually, and if we aren't ready, there's going to be no chance…_ He shook his head, blonde ponytail lightly slapping him in the neck. He didn't have time to think about such things. Right now, their only focus was going to be getting into the city.

Didn't that already look challenging enough?

* * *

Beatrix glanced back at their group almost cringing. There were so many of them – something that the guards would probably see suspicious. She glanced down at her shaking hands, tightly clutching her fake papers. Her name was to be Rosemary Dalin coming from Oeilvert with her husband, Drake Dalin (Steiner), and her two children Eiko and Syndi (Dagger).

Baku was a pilot from Daguerro who had been married twice, but both wives had died. His children included Oliver (Cinna), Bovarn (Blank), Juilette (Ruby), and Radius (Zidane).

Marcus and Fratley, now Marcus and Kenji, were travelers who bounced from place to place, coming into the city to rest for a couple of weeks. Zenero, now Zealand was one of the same, but not associated with the traveling duo.

Some of the group had to change their names – mostly being the well-known knights, and the others being part of the Tantalus acting troupe – but the rest of the papers Dagger had safely entrusted with Freya had real names penned in. With the latter, Amarant and Quina leading the group to Quale in Qu's marsh, it only left Vivi.

Sure, they had drawn up some forged papers for the black mage, but that was just it… He was a black mage. It wasn't common knowledge that there was a real Black Mage race out there, so most assumed he would be Kuja's lackey. That would have been fine except Vivi was very aware, and not even close to being dressed in a similar uniform.

The subject was left mostly untouched, everyone trying to come up with different, reliable solutions before presenting them to everyone else. The mage rubbed his sweaty hands on his pants as they rounded the side of the gate. They weren't at all sure what to expect.

Steiner glared forward at the extended pile of stone rubble in the distance. It was very clear the Dragon's Gate was once meant to keep enemies _out_, but was now just a monument of how Kuja had taken over. He remembered the last time he was in this city – he had entered "Adelbert Steiner, Captain of the Knights of Pluto" and bowed before the Regent Cid Fabool and Her Majesty, Lady Hilda.

His chest ached to proudly wear his title again – to see Cid in the place he belonged – and to see Lady Hilda in person again after her disappearance all those years ago.

Gasps erupted from everyone, staring horrified through the bustling gate of the city. There were a couple of soldiers and a handful of black mages standing by, prepared to fight anyone who attempted to start anything. But that wasn't the big issue…

Posters of Zidane and Vivi's faces done by a rather talented sketch artist were stamped all over the walls. With huge eyes, the genome turned towards the rest of the group, his confidence gone.

"There's no way we're going to be able to get in let alone _roam_ the city! Papers-schmapers – they're going to recognize us!"

Each head turned, trying to find someone else to figure out what to do. Fratley shook his head, "Then it is no good? We move on?"

"No," Zidane shook his head, turning back around and sucking in a shaking breath. "I'm not going to stop you guys from going in…" He fidgeted, "But the soldiers might expect something…" He gestured to their new clothing.

All of it was old farming outfits and leather hides – all armor tucked under more tattered clothes and Gyshal Pickles in sacks so that the guards wouldn't want to dig very far. Steiner's unruly black hair darted out in all directions, and Beatrix felt exposed in the dainty house-wife's dress she was sporting.

Fratley's hat was too small, and didn't have holes for his long ears, and Cinna grumbled about the buttons being ready to snap off of his dress shirt. They looked alright, but seen in a clump, they would also be recognized.

"We should probably split up, going in at different times during the day…" Fratley nodded.

"Once we get in, ditch the new clothing, I can't imagine anyone away from city gates caring about rebels running around as long as we don't cause problems," Blank gestured to him and his group, "We'll go in first… Look for one of us towards the doors, and we'll lead you to Tantalus' old home."

"You guys had a place here?"

"Multiple. Cid was very fond of our theater group once upon a time," Baku told them, his tone defensive, "Even after the Regent was run out, they kept it open for years… Though if we would have hung out there all the time without switching locations we would have been discovered."

"What about Zidane and Vivi?" Dagger asked, and suddenly ever turned towards them.

Zidane had already begun shucking off his ratty clothes. He pulled off his shirt and dumped the Gyshal Pickles out onto the ground (everyone immediately covered their noses and mouths), and found some of his usual garments.

He kept his tan cloth pants on, but slipped his boots on over them. "We'll find a way in and meet you there."

"Will you be able to find it?"

He grinned a foxy grin at his best friend and nodded, "I think I can manage… I'm a thief, remember?"

Baku turned, "We'd better start going while there's still a group. Kids," he smirked, biting back a chuckle, "Let's go!" The four of them began marching towards the gate. Ruby's nerves showed when she tucked a hand behind her back, crossing her fingers with prayer.

"We'd better head off too… I hope it's the busiest it's going to get – we're going to need every advantage we can snag," Zidane nodded, then did a mock salute before turning away.

"Hey!" Vivi and him turned back around to the matching voices of Eiko and Dagger. All four smiled at each other. "Be careful…" The girls said together once again. For a moment, Vivi thought that both were directed at Zidane, but found the little girl's turquoise eyes had locked with his own golden ones.

He gave her a shy smile before turning and running after the blonde.

"If you don't see us by tomorrow morning, something's happened!" Zidane called over his shoulder, his voice lifted away on the wind.

"I _hope_ nothing happens to them…" Marcus shook his head. "But the kid has a point – if we aren't all reunited by tomorrow morning… We need to go looking for each other."

Everyone gave a curt nod, and watched on, eager with anxiety, to those who had already left.

* * *

"Zidane, I don't think I can run anymore…" Vivi moaned, clutching his side. "I'm sorry, I'm slowing you down –"

"Don't say that," he told the mage. "It's alright, we can stop and rest…" He purposely huffed a little too, though he could have kept going for awhile at least, "I'm tired too!"

The mage smiled and collapsed on the ground, staring at the large city, sprouted in the sky in front of them.

"How are we going to get in?"

"We're either going to scale the wall, or use the ocean port."

"I can't climb…" He sighed, feeling miserable that he was handicapping the genome. How was he chosen as a dreamer again?

"Then we'll use the port!" The blonde figured that would be the easiest route. "But then we've got to get going, otherwise we're going to be stuck outside the rest of the night…" He gave an all-knowing glance to the mage, "From what I remember, there's a reason Lindblum has such high walls…"

The mage squeaked and climbed to his feet, pulling his hat tighter onto his head. "Okay!" he puffed, "I'm ready!"

Zidane took off at a slow jog again, hoping the black mage would be able to keep up. His eyes scanned the seemingly harmless area around them, knowing full well they could already have been spied by numerous soldiers on the wall.

As they rounded the final bend, they spotted the dock. The high stone archway curved the harsh sunlight away from the workers, mumbling and yelling to one another across the water. If they could get by the docks and continue up the worn path under the archway, they'd be up the hill and into Lindblum – easy!

But it wasn't going to work like that.

"Follow my lead…" Zidane whispered, "Be quick, and be quiet!" With that, he sprinted off, like he was pouncing on his prey. The blonde rolled behind some crates, and peered over them.

The wooden crate didn't appear to be dangerous, so he watched on for a moment, seeing if the supplies in this area would be taken into the city. A man laughed not far away, and by instinct, had the teen ducking for cover. Vivi had finally caught up to him, and they both held their breath as a man inspected the pile they hid behind.

"This stuff's gotta go in tonight!"

"Oi, can't we just be done?!" One guy complained, groaning and stretching out his back.

"If it were anything Kuja related, I would say let's leave it to _rot_! But it's supplies for old Sally's sewing shop, so we really ought to bring it to her!"

The man heaved a sigh, "Let's grab a drink first, can't we?"

The first worker grumbled under his breath about just wanting to get this done so he could go home, but called out to the other man in agreement. Slowly, the yard began to clear out, save for a few guys two docks away who were smoking and horsing around before they finished hauling cargo.

"I can't believe our luck…" Zidane mumbled. "Now's our chance, Vivi!" He unsheathed his dagger and immediately jammed the tip under the top of the box. It creaked in protest, getting gradually louder before a clanky _pop_ was heard.

They hid for a moment, hoping the men wouldn't come to investigate. It didn't appear they heard a thing.

The blonde slowly removed the lid, peaking in to see the contents of the large box. It was mostly an assortment of threads and needle packages, and the boy grinned. "Perfect…" It seemed Kuja didn't want to supply the woman's shop with too much at one time, because it was only about half full.

"Vivi, you've got to climb in there."

If he could have, surely the mage would have blanched. "I c-can't go in there, Zidane!"

"Why not? This is our best shot!" The excitement in his sapphire eyes didn't die down.

Suddenly the little one was wringing his gloved hands together, averting his yellow eyes away from his friend. "I'm scared of the dark… And of enclosed spaces…"

For a moment, Zidane's expression froze in the heat of his excitement, but then slowly, his face melted into amused, yet irritated confusion. "You're telling me that you've been living under a rock for the last year, and you're afraid of enclosed spaces _and_ the dark?"

He squeaked, realizing how ridiculous that sounded. "But Dali… and the forest… feels like home." He gestured to the box, his eyes pleading, "What if these people decide to forget about the boxes? We'll be trapped!"

"At least we'd have a place to sleep for the night," Zidane snickered. When he realized Vivi didn't think the joke was funny, he sighed. "Vivi, these supplies are for a civilian, and with the way these men talked, they're not going to wreak havoc on some poor old woman…" His shoulder slumped in defeat as he digested Vivi's words. "But if it helps you… I _guess_ we can keep the lids off until they come back.

Needless to say, Vivi visibly brightened.

Zidane chuckled and helped him climb inside, waiting patiently to find himself a space to hide until the mage was comfortable. He shifted around the spools of large thread – some itchy, and some fine as silk. The blonde helped him throw needle packets on top of his legs so he didn't have to sit on them. Both of them had to admit, he fit pretty damn well.

"What do you think?"

"It'll do," Zidane decided with a nod. He slowly raised the lid, and balanced it on one corner of the box. "We'll leave this here, and when I tell you to, slide it over your head, and latch it back into place."

"Okay!"

Quickly, the genome disheveled another crate, cringing when he found mounds of wool inside. With the sun beating down on the cargo, he knew he was in for a very sweaty adventure. But without anymore options, he shifted the wool to the sides of the box, insulating himself as he adjusted his butt more comfortably in the box.

His own lid stayed only half on, but within minutes he was sweating and panting. The sounds of the waves taunted him, and he groaned, thudding his head against the box.

He peeled the dagger off of his side, and slowly started to tap out a hole in the side of the box. This way, when they entered the city, he would know where to go to get out of that woman's shop. Plus, he wanted to use it as an excuse to have a breathing hole in his sweltering prison.

Not long after, the rowdy mens' voices rumbled down the alleyway, the noise magnified from the narrow space.

"Close your lid now!" Zidane hissed over to the black mage. He waited as his friend adjusted the lid, only moving to do his own when he heard a satisfying _click_ from beside him.

His brain screamed at him, trying to make him stop. Every part of his body protested the lid being put on, and when he shifted around after the deed was done, he knew why. His sweat had already almost soaked into the wool, and his nose wrinkled as the damp smell of sheep fur hit him.

A wave of nausea followed soon after, and he slammed his nose against the side of the box, hoping to find the hole, cursing himself for not making it bigger. It seemed to take the men ages to finally get back to what they were doing. It only occurred to him then that he wouldn't have any idea what crate Vivi was in, but was somehow oddly confident that the boy would get out without Zidane's dagger.

In what seemed like _years_, his crate was finally loaded onto the little lift, and he started to jumble around.

"These crates are heavy ones! I bet Sally ordered extra supplies!"

_I hope nobody is going to want anything wool until another shipment comes in…_ Zidane thought wryly. A smile broke onto his face, despite the upset feeling in his stomach, and the sweat rolling down his back. Eventually, the wheels on the pully settled into a rhythm, and they were on their way up the hill.

He was positioned just right, as a breeze ripped through the ally they were crossing through, and he pulled his head back from the hole, hoping that some of the wind would get in. A little gust blew into his face, and he sighed. But soon, that luxury was also gone. It felt like, in that box, things were choppy and quick, yet feeling sluggish at the same time.

It reminded him of blacking out. Some things were more distinct and sharp and other times just hazed over like you were barely there at all… And that feeling was being released on him, sweating in a stupid wool crate.

His brooding ended however, when bells caught his attention. He pushed his eye against the hole, trying to find some sort of sign of where they were. The sight absolutely amazed him.

Though he had a narrow line of vision – a laser pointer ahead of him, he saw the bright, grand buildings of Lindblum. He imagined them looking a lot better when Cid ruled the city, but he shrugged. It was better than the shamble people called Alexandria these days.

He saw people… _happy_. His chest ached curiously for his comfortable Dream Alexandria as he watched two boys combat with wooden swords in front of a food stand. So many people moved about, a mage standing at every doorway.

Even though he tried to stop it, because this was a war, and he was wanted, and he was probably going to die in the next few weeks, and he was separated from all of his friends… a smile grew on his lips.

They were inside the city.

* * *

**A/N: If you couldn't tell, I guess I didn't really have a lot to say that chapter. Sorry it was mostly filler, but the next part should be a bit more fun! I can't wait to hear what you have to say about it!**

**-zesty-**


	59. Chapter 58: Surprising Allies

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 58: Surprising Allies**

Of course, Zidane's happiness was short-lived. As soon as his crate was plunged into the darkness of a storage area, fears of never escaping without being spotted crept into the pit of his stomach.

His insides churned as he slowly heard the last lively voices of the inner city fall away, echoing only in his mind as he shifted. His clothes were sticking to him, and he felt the wool squish beneath him with sweltering heat. More worry snaked its way around his throat when he realized Vivi might not be beside him as he had been when they began their journey.

Fear propelled him forward as he continually beat on the top of the box to get out. Growing irritated, he maneuvered himself in the tight space, and kicked hard with his feet, throwing the top of the crate spiraling across the room.

"Vivi!" Zidane yelped as he fell out of the crate. It was higher up than he suspected, but not enough to hurt him when he tumbled over the next wooden box down. "Vivi where are you?!"

Because silence was his only answer, a new fear slowly welled up inside of him. What if Vivi was found out? What if his crate was taken apart and they saw an aware black mage inside? They matched his face with the poster? He was already on his way to Alexandria…

"Vivi!" Zidane shouted roughly, throwing tops off and digging his dagger into the wood. His heart beat accelerated as paranoia gripped him.

Where was Vivi?

* * *

"It's been a long time…" Blank muttered, his hands stuffed into his pockets, covered eyes staring upward toward the building.

"It looks a little different now…" Cinna remarked with a sigh, walking timidly up to its outside walls.

"More run down," Blank decided, but then shook his head, "Or maybe it's just that they boarded up the windows!"

"I'm sure it was common knowledge to everyone who wasn't just a town's person that Tantalus was more than a theatre troupe…" Baku rolled his eyes, walking briskly to the door and jiggling the dark handle. The door creaked in protest, and he quickly stopped, all three of them wondering if the handle would fall off if he continued.

"Do you think Ruby will be able to find it?" Cinna questioned, glancing around as Baku kicked in the door.

"She'll be fine. She may have joined us a little later, but this was just as much her home as everyone else's, you idiot…" Baku grumbled, wandering inside.

Behind the front door was even worse than the outside. The whole place had been ransacked, every item of possible possession stolen from its shelves and chests. Of course, they didn't have many important things to begin with, but the fact that people had stomped all over their home was a little offending.

The redhead tentatively followed his leader in, and stared around the room. Dust particles from the uproar with the door floated around in the air, giving the hideout an older feel. The sun leaked through cracks in the boarded and-or shattered windows, rotting wood from the highest support beams of the ceiling having fallen and crumbled around the pathway. The gears on the far side of the room were caked in grime, and looked rustier than they remembered.

What used to be their furniture was torn apart and snapped into pieces, strewn all over the room. The trio sighed, and stepped over things where they could, crunching on top of things when they couldn't find a safe path.

"This is a mess…" The youngest grumbled, running a hand over what used to be their kitchen counter. It was splintered and grimy, but he remembered the finished product well enough.

Cinna had already climbed the long ladder up to the sleeping area and gasped, eyes gleaming with discovery. "Blank!" He cooed, holding up a torn, ancient teddy bear. "Look! Its Wuffles!"

The redhead's cheeks blared to match the color of his hair, "Cinna put that back!"

"It must obviously still hold something over you!" His companion snickered, before tossing it back onto the mattress. "It's a little gross up here, but the loft still seems to be in pretty good shape."

"For the whole place being raided, I'd say the fact it's still standing is impressive," Baku commented, poking his head into what was their bathroom. He spied most facilities in that room had been spared – nothing of importance ever being in the bathroom.

Underneath the loft were two entryways. One was into the bathroom – a crammed place made _strictly_ for hygiene, and nothing else. A small, cracked mirror was nailed hastily to the wall once Ruby joined them, and it still hung, though layers of dust blurred Baku's reflection.

The other door lead to Baku's sleeping quarters. There was a bookshelf once filled with numerous novels, play acting scripts, airship blue prints, raiding plans, and various knick-knacks picked up during their travels. That was tipped over onto the bed, where the blankets had been torn and thrown about. His closet had a hump of clothing still splayed out in front of it – ones that probably didn't even fit him anymore, they were so old.

There was an old broken lamp that lay next to the bedside table. Slowly stepping over the mess, his heart seemed to break a little when he spotted the broken picture by the bedside. Baku was a little younger, and so was the rest of his team. The gleaming lights of Treno were the backdrop, strangely dress nobles, and many different performers dotted behind the group. Blank was shorter than ever, a grumpy expression carved into his face as Zidane's large hand pressed over his hair. His best friend's other hand sat upon Ruby's head.

Her hair was still its natural dirty blonde, hanging limply around her face as she turned away from Blank. It appeared she was probably appalled about something he'd done – not much different than the present days. Marcus was grinning ear to ear – more curious and playful when he was younger than he was now. His arm was thrown around Cinna's broad shoulders… Had the thief actually _lost_ weight since they went underground in Dali? Baku glanced up, as though he would be able to see the older teen from where he stood… _I don't know… Cinna's still pretty fuckin' fat…_ He shook the thoughts out of his mind, and glanced down at the picture again.

Benero and Zenero stood united, next to Cinna, Zenero shy and Benero fierce looking. Baku stood behind them all grinning himself, while the other orphans that belonged to Tantalus surrounded them. He hadn't any idea where the rest of his adoptive children had gone, or even if they were still alive.

His eyes traced Benero for a moment, and his heart broke. They were all together back then; the war still hadn't hit them enough to be damaging. Shortly after this picture – the day suddenly coming back to him in sharp focus – Zidane went missing, and all went down hill from there.

The old photo was scratched up a little from the glass, but after he rubbed away the sharp piece still clinging to the ink, he folded it lightly and stuck it into his pocket. A treasure like that still standing in the room? He was surprised, and he wasn't about to let it get away from him again.

After they'd lost Zidane in Treno, they'd spent _weeks_ searching for him all around the Mist Continent. With no luck, and all of their hope gone (the worst of their fears assumed) they'd returned to Lindblum to mourn. Cid and Hilda had been driven from the kingdom _long_ ago, but Tantalus still managed to hide out there with few problems – their ship planted on the coast not too far away.

But when talk of a small resistance in Lindblum started passing around town, they knew they were in trouble simply because these rumors were about Tantalus. They got out of the city before black mages and troops stormed their hide out – their home, but not by much… They literally flew over their building and theater in the Prima Vista – their last standing, familiar structure – and watched Kuja's men flood their now ex-base, along with various other Tantalus-owned buildings.

"If we cleaned this place up a little, it wouldn't be so bad!" He heard Cinna call from the loft sporting all of the beds.

"Then that's the first thing we'll do when everyone gets here," Baku decided, wandering into the kitchen, his eyes darting all around the area. "If we can go to the market and get some food, this will be the best place we've stayed in since the damn war started.

Blank and Cinna snickered at the irony, though the context wasn't really funny. Their leader shot them a grin before folding his arms over his chest. "What are you two dim wits waiting for?! Start cleaning!" He barked, and they scattered quickly, pulling debris off of the floor and piling it by the old fireplace.

Baku poked through all of their cupboards, grimacing when the rusted metal handles groaned with the creaking of the cupboard door. He tried to smoothly replace one handle that actually came off. The man eventually found what he was looking for when he spotted a rag, and meandered outside to find some water.

"I can't believe we're back here…" Blank mumbled to his friend as soon as the door swung shut.

"Me either… It's kind of eerie, don't you think?"

"This stuff is our past…" He glanced around, seeing a few things he hardly recognized anymore. "It's not who we are anymore…"

"But it was part of it…" Cinna smiled at him, "It'll be fine."

"Do you think Zidane and Vivi are making it in okay?"

"I don't think you have to worry about Zidane anymore," the taller thief grinned, his mustache crinkling up with his lips, "He was a bit rusty in the beginning – I'll give you that much, but he's grown back into his usual act-before-you-think, caring, disastrous self!"

"That's an interesting way to describe him," the redhead countered with a grin of his own. Cinna rolled his eyes and continued to pick up wood form the ground. "Do you think we'll get to stay here long?"

"Lindblum is going to be harder than Ipsen's because these people aren't trained fighters, and don't realize how good of a chance we have if they band with us, but it'll be more fuckin' comfortable!" Cinna let out a hearty laugh, leaving the redhead to roll his eyes.

"You're impossible," he told the other fighter, sighing and plopping down on the ground. "I wish Ruby would hurry up and get back!"

"Why?" The thief looked just a little _too_ innocent. "You worried about her?"

"Ruby isn't the best at defending herself…" Blank squirmed, suddenly feeling chills that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room. "And I just have this awful feeling that we'll be recognized."

"You worry too much… You should direct some of that towards Zidane and Vivi – it's _their_ faces plastered all over town!"

"That's another thing… How are we going to convince anyone we have dreamers with us, if they have to hide the whole time we're in Lindblum?"

"Who said anything about them hiding?" Cinna shrugged, "They'll find a way to maneuver, I'm sure, if they get in anyways."

"Aren't you the optimist?" The redhead mumbled, before lying on his back and staring at the ceiling. He remembered days upon days that he used to do this before, waiting for something more to happen. He'd familiarized himself with the ceiling so well that sometimes even still, he could imagine it above him when he fell asleep under ground or on the airship."

The door suddenly burst open, and in tromped Ruby with Steiner's group. "There so many darn people out there, yer never gon' believe how long it took!"

"We've been here the whole time," Blank told her, not bothering to glance at the girl. "We _know_ how long it took you!"

"Well!" She huffed, turning away. The others stepped into the make-shift house, gazing around.

"This place is _huge_!" Beatrix gasped, not used to seeing buildings with such high ceilings due to all of her time with the resistance.

"There used to be so many people running around here," Cinna told her, glancing around with his eyes in a distant place as he remembered, "I never once thought so."

The brunette grinned at him as she set down her bag of armor and weapons. "Are you two cleaning up?"

"I am, Blank's not!" Cinna immediately accused, pointing a finger at him.

"Dammit Blank! You better get your butt of the ground, or I'm gon' shove my boot so far –"

"Okay!" He hopped up, obviously not ready for the rage of Ruby on their first day back in the city. "I'm going to head out and wait for the next group to come in!"

"You just don't want to help!" Eiko whined, already up in the loft. How did she move so unnoticed?

"Your right!" He sang out, very uncharacteristically, before slamming the door shut and running off.

From a place much higher above the Tantalus's old building, a golden pair of eyes watched on in anxiousness. Her line of sight continued with the redhead until he rounded a corner she couldn't see passed. That house hadn't been used in _years_. Why all of a sudden was it being used now?

Suspicion grew in her stomach as she turned her back towards the shining sun splashed across the city. She'd need to do her research and find out which of these people weren't who they said they were…

* * *

Nausea filled his stomach as he counted only five remaining boxes. With all the clattering and shouting he was doing, he realized that the chances of those boxes containing Vivi, who had yet to make a sound, were slim to none.

His stomach churned again as he stumbled over to the last pile, fear pricking his senses in panic. What was going to happen to Vivi? His dagger barely dug into the crack between the cover and the rest of the crate, the blonde too weak with worry and exhaustion.

He was still sweating – the room he was in almost _hotter_ than the box itself, and his dry mouth screamed silently for _something_ to drink.

"Vivi!" He groaned out, directing his gaze at the box again. He leaned close, fixing his blurred vision onto it, trying to pry the box open with his fingers now, instead of the blade. "Where are you?"

Another loud pop rang out into the air as he dragged the cover off, the fatigue catching up with him. Inside was just a box of provisions – not even anything to do with the sewing theme he'd found in every other crate.

But just like that, all his dizziness and weariness was replaced with his usually nimble and sharp senses when the door swung open, splashing light onto the floor.

He held his breath as he scampered behind the boxes silently, wishing with every ounce of his being that it was Vivi who waited for him at the door.

"Hello?" Someone echoed. It was a woman – probably an older one. The shuffling she created with her feet confirmed Zidane's suspicions. "I know I heard someone in here!" She sighed and turned back to the door, shutting it again.

The blonde waited for a moment before leaping back out, running to the last few crates. He had to check these out and then find a way out, and figure out where Vivi was. Maybe he would regroup with the rest of Tantalus. He slid his dagger underneath the second crate's top. Yeah! That's what he would do! Go find Blank, Steiner, Dagger and the others before setting out in the big city to find the mage. All he had-

The door flew open, and the lady was inside, a bow in her hand. He was caught redhanded, wide eyed in the light.

"Who are you?!" Her shadow demanded. With the light shining behind her, he couldn't get a good fix on what she looked like. Somehow, it sounded like the same woman as before, but not quite as fragile and old.

"I – err… Um, I'm –"

"Speak!" She commanded, pulling back the draw string on the weapon.

"I'm not here to steal from you!" He cried out, putting his hands up in the universal 'stop' motion. "I'm looking for my friend!"

"Why would your friend be in any of these crates?!" She demanded, her bow still not relaxing.

"I um…"

Further back her string drew, and the arrow, suddenly and menacingly, was pointed at his face. He winced when he thought of their cover being blown _or_ his head being sliced open by the tip of that arrow.

"You have three seconds to tell me what you're _really_ doing in here, before I kill you."

The usually tanned genome visibly paled, unsure of how to react.

"One…"

He chewed his lip nervously, "I'm really looking for my friend –"

"_Two_!" She shouted at him, standing a bit straighter.

He glanced around, wondering if there was a place he should try and hide before her count hit three. But then he watched how she held the bow and her face, and realized she probably wasn't a lousy shot, even on a moving target.

"Three."

* * *

Dagger sat worriedly at the window, her chocolate eyes reflecting the light that shone through.

"What are you doing just sitting here?" Beatrix asked, genuinely worried for the girl.

They had finished picking everything up off the floor awhile ago, and Baku brought back some water and cloths so they could wash everything down. Dagger was the only one who still hadn't changed out of her uncomfortable clothing choice, back into her yellow jumpsuit and white blouse.

"I'm worried…" She admitted with a sigh, feeling hard pressed to keep her eyes on the window, but tore them away so she could shoot a painful look at her brunette superior.

"Everyone is going to get here safely," she told the girl, and then changed her expression to a hard one, "_everyone_."

"How are they going to get in by themselves?" She questioned, still not quite believing her mentor's words.

"Zidane is smart, and Vivi is small – they're going to find a way in."

"What if someone has already caught them? We wouldn't know until tomorrow morning, and by then they would be halfway to Alexandria."

"If that did happen –" Dagger shot her a horrified expression, "- _If!_" Beatrix confirmed sternly, "We would chase after them and get them before they were brought to Kuja… It'll be alright Dagger…"

"I just –"

"Don't worry…" She put a hand on the girl's shoulder and gestured to the place. "Come eat… Ruby got us some food from the market."

The raven sighed and stood, stretching before moving towards the table. She allowed herself one more glance at the window, before shoving the painful thoughts from her mind, and sitting down at the large, run-down table to grab a bite to eat.

* * *

"Zidane?" Just as the woman was about to let go of the arrow, a voice rang out timidly into the room, causing relief to wash through the genome who'd just been questioned.

"Vivi!" He yelled, racing forward. He forgot the fact that the woman was about to shoot at him, and galloped to his friend, practically falling to his knees in front of the mage. "Are you alright? What are you doing here? I thought I'd – and then you and…" He trailed and smirked when he realized that the mage had taken care of himself.

"I was dropped off at the very front of the door…" His eyes moved towards the woman, standing confused and off to the side, her bow in the middle of being let go, yet still slightly drawn. She wasn't sure if she should be totally off guard or not. "We're lucky that we picked sewing crates to hide in."

For the first time since the aggressive almost-attack, Zidane glanced at the woman. She was old, lines in her face where she'd laughed too often, and worried too much, but her stance was still sturdy, hair curled tightly into a bun on her head.

"Who are you?" Zidane asked, looking a little sheepish. "Thank you so much for…" He gestured to Vivi, almost at a loss for words, "You know… not killing him."

"My name is Sally," she said closely, "It seems you and your friend decided to sneak into my clothing shop."

"Not really the sewing shop, ma'am…" After it looked like he was a burglar, and then a smuggled in run away, he scratched the back of his head, trying to suck up a little. He hadn't missed that her bow wasn't out of her hands yet. "Trying to sneak into the city…"

She raised an eyebrow and glanced at his little friend. "You weren't lying when you said this…"

Vivi shook his head and sighed deeply, "Unfortunately, no…"

Finally, upon hearing the mage's words, she disconnected the arrow from her bow, and Zidane let out a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding.

"Who are you?" She asked Zidane, light colored eyes scanning his body.

"My name is Zidane Tribal," he offered with a kind smile.

She stared at the duo for a moment, before taking a step back in shock. "The dreamers!"

Protectively, the genome stepped in front of Vivi, while _both_ of them took a step back in caution. "We're not here alone! You won't get us far before Kuja's men are stopped –"

She bowed slightly, surprising them both.

"When Vivi admitted he was part of the resistance, I hadn't any idea until I saw you both together that you were the dreamers everyone speaks of."

"We're popular!" Zidane offered with a goofy grin.

"It's an honor to meet you."

"We really aren't that special, Sally…" Vivi tried to explain, uncomfortable under her scrutiny.

"And yet, little one, you have no idea how much of an inspiration the both of you are to those dwelling in Lindblum who wish for an uprising."

"Are there many?" Both asked together, hopefulness gathering on their faces.

The woman gave a curt nod, "But they're spread out, and most do not speak freely of it. Though there are no soldiers in the city, Kuja's eyes and ears are everywhere."

Though they knew they were safe in a secure cellar talking about such things, both of the rebels shuttered involuntarily.

"Let's go have some tea," Sally suggested, shuffling back into her shop, up the stairs and around the corner.

Zidane and Vivi followed, oddly confident that they could trust her. The blonde glanced out the whimsical shop window and winced when he saw the pointed hat of a black mage. How were they going to run around the entire city?

As though reading their thoughts, Sally stopped in front of her already brewing kettle, and spoke to them. "You two aren't going to get very far without being spotted. I don't know one soul in Lindblum who is rooting for Kuja during this whole fiasco, and yet… I only know a handful of people who wouldn't turn you in if you ran freely through the city. The mages act mechanically, and if you've seen someone who's wanted but don't turn them in, your house is up in flames in a matter of minutes…" She was suddenly turned towards them, her lips pressed into a hard line, and her eyes pleading. "You must understand."

"We do," Zidane assured her. "But how are we going to get out and into the city? We have others we have to meet up with… and we can't do our mission sitting behind a wall."

"This is true…" She stared down at Vivi for a few moments, "You could dress in anything, Zidane Tribal… And yet… Vivi…" She trailed, and both of them winced when they realized the direction her words were taking her.

"I'm going to give everyone away," Vivi told them miserably.

"I think I have a plan…" Sally said suddenly, "But we're not going to talk about it until we give you two something good and hot to drink."

"Could I bother you for some water as well?" Zidane tilted his head, another sheepish grin overtaking his features. "I was sitting in a wool box for a while –"

"Say no more!" She told him cheerfully, and grabbed a tin cup, filling it with water from her basin. "Water isn't tough to come by in Lindblum, despite the size of the city. It's not a bad place," She sounded like she was trying to defend her home. The two of them knew not to complain otherwise, considering where they'd been residing in.

They sat and talked to Sally for a long time. She told them about Kuja's take over – having been here the whole time. She revealed stories of when she was much younger – when Cid still held firmly onto Lindblum as the rest of the world fell prey to the dark man's magic. She spoke of the shift in power, when Cid and Hilda disappeared, their people not knowing whether they lived or if they died.

For awhile, Zidane and Vivi were able to hear of the struggles of the war from a completely different perspective. It was a much less dangerous one, but far sadder. None of these people had someone to band together under, and form some sort of a family.

Zidane stretched out his leg, scrunching his nose when the bone popped a couple of times. It ached from being underneath him for so long, so he leaned back, trying to flatten his body into a straight line to stretch all of his limbs. He turned his head toward the window, and his eyes almost flew out of his head.

"It's dark!"

Vivi seemed just as alarmed as he. Sally stared at them in confusion as both of them hustled to stand. "Where are you going?"

"We have to meet our friends!" Vivi insisted. "Thank you for everything you've done… We really can't appreciate it more –"

"You're not leaving…" She shook her head at their paling expressions. "Not yet anyways… Let me find you something more suitable to wear…"

She ushered them up the stairs into her house, attached to the top of her shop. She led them down the narrow hallway and into a room that was cluttered with things, but it seemed like nobody lived in there.

The older woman pulled out a chest and flipped it open, the two boys trying to nonchalantly peak inside. She pulled out a conductor's hat and threw it at Vivi. He wasn't sure what to say as she threw another jacket at him – this one blue and faded. She took one more glance at him before deciding he could probably do with the rest of his clothing.

"It won't do you any good if people look at your eyes," the woman shook her head, "But it's less conspicuous than the pointy hat." Vivi nodded, though gripped his hat like a life line.

"What's wrong?" Zidane asked him, staring down at his small form as she dug around in the closet this time for clothing that would fit Zidane.

"It's just… My grandpa gave me this hat… It's very old, and really precious to me and –"

"You can keep the hat," Zidane told him with a small, encouraging smile. "It's better that you don't wear it right now though… Just keep it with you tight when we head back to the hideout, and then you can keep it there for safe keeping until we leave Lindblum."

Before either could answer, she threw a shirt and gloves at Zidane as well. "You two should get going… They get weary of night time travelers in the city."

They meant to leave, but she rushed to them, pulling both of them into a hug. "I will spread the word to those I trust that you are here… Many will be willing to help your cause… Please, come back to me tomorrow with your friends… I would very much so like to meet them."

"We will…" Zidane nodded, "Anything after you've helped us so much already."

The old lady let on a smile and led them back downstairs. Both of the boys changed quickly, grinning at each other after they had switched outfits.

"Wish us luck!" Vivi called to Sally as they stepped out the door. She watched them through the window, glancing this way and that for any sign that they were being spotted as dreamers.

"Good luck…" She whispered, and watched them disappear into the night.

* * *

**A/N: So what did you think? I kind of liked that chapter! :) I hope you all enjoyed it as well. It's nice to have a change of pace from Ipsen's castle – that place was such a bore!**

**Leave me some love!**

**-zesty-**


	60. Chapter 59: Tantalus

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 59: Tantalus**

"We all agreed on morning," Steiner said firmly. His confident voice did nothing to ease the worried expressions of over _half_ of his party.

"And that gives Kuja a what – eight hours _plus_ of a head start?" Blank cocked his head to the side, balancing in his cross-legged position. His hands held onto his ankles, tucked in front of him, for support.

"Zidane was the one who suggested it," the former knight tried to argue, but that didn't stop the redhead from standing.

"I can't sit here and wait if it means my best friend might be being dragged away from us as we speak…" He spun and faced the whole group. "Coming Dagger?"

When she made a move to rise, both Steiner and Beatrix reached out to her with counter statements already tumbling (very ungracefully) out of their mouths.

"He's right," the girl sighed, wrapping herself in her arms. "If we don't do something now, we might lose both of them…"

"That's no reason for you to go out and search for them, Dagger…" Fratley told her, standing, "Let us go – you're needed more here to convince the people of Lindblum to fight with us."

She opened her mouth to argue with him, but slowly closed again, slumping in defeat. Fratley was absolutely right. She watched as Tantalus slowly got up to move out the door, but froze on the spot when voices rang out from outside.

"Dammit! Ouch!"

"Are you okay?" Another voice whispered.

"I can't remember if this is the place… Fuck!"

"We'll find it soon, don't worry," this voice sounded scared and unsure, but trying to be brave.

"I don't know, I really have no idea –"

Blank, closest to the door, swung it open with a slightly irritable grin on his face. There, almost directly outside the door, stopped a terribly dressed Zidane and Vivi, whose expressions held that of a deer in headlights, caught red handed snooping outside of the house.

"And here we were all worried!" A flood of chatter rose in relief when Blank threw up his hands. "Get inside you assholes!" The two quickly complied. "Where have you been?!" He demanded.

"Sheesh, _mother_," Zidane glared playfully, "We got held up!"

"By _what_?!"

"Sorry getting in here wasn't a walk in the park like it was for you!"

"We actually didn't walk at all," Vivi told them, and that peaked nearly everyone's interest.

"Tell us what happened," Beatrix said calmly, shifting in her spot on the wooden chair. Dishes were stacked neatly behind her on the counter, everyone too tired from an actual decent meal to want to clean up, since that's all they'd done the whole day in preparation for the next couple of weeks.

"We hid in some crates to get into the city," the blonde shrugged, "Vivi and I got split up, but then we found each other again through some old lady –"

"Someone saw you?" More than a few of them were on their feet in seconds.

Zidane held his hands up in a surrendering position, "She was good! She was… good…" He nodded, "The sewing shop a few blocks away… That's where we were taken. The owner's name is Sally – she recognized us pretty quick…" He shrugged, "She supports our cause."

Beatrix clutched her chest in relief as the new sunk in to her mind the fastest. "Thank God!"

"That wouldn't have ended well…" Cinna stroked his beard before turning back to the two still hovering in the doorway, "Is that why you two are dressed ridiculously?!"

That earned a few more snickers, causing Zidane and Vivi to stand rigid. "Sally gave us the clothes… It worked, we're here, aren't we?!" the blonde defended them, but that didn't shut anyone up.

"I'd like to meet her," Beatrix said on a more serious note.

"Me too!" The requests were popping up quickly, and Vivi nodded.

"She told us to bring you all back tomorrow to meet her," He smiled a little, though nobody could see it. He clutched the pointy hat in his small hands, "She wants to meet the people who still give hope to Lindblum."

A pregnant silence fell between the group as they stared at each other. The woman knew of them? They must have been getting popular…

Dagger slowly sat back down on the ground, and patted the spot next to her, silently inviting the two dreamers to take a seat. Eiko, Ruby and Marcus were all perched up in the loft, the purple haired girl barely able to keep her eyes open.

Steiner and Fratley sat on the bench they'd pulled up, after it had been knocked down for so long. They'd dragged it over towards the living room more. Beatrix sat in one of the kitchen chairs, having scraped it across the floor to close in on the small group of friends and allies.

Baku poked at the fire they'd started not that long ago. It was warm out still, yet everyone felt more comforted by the fire. They weren't used to such a thing, living under ground. The others were all sprawled out leisurely on the floor, chatting quietly, and yet, loudly enough for everyone to hear if they wanted to listen.

Mostly, the stories were about Tantalus and their mishaps and mischief in Lindblum – stories everyone earnestly wanted to hear. It brought a little light into their situation.

Zidane rolled over and tucked his head into Dagger's lap. She brushed through his hair lovingly with her fingers and smiled down at him. His eyes never left her face, despite being called upon to speak more than once.

"Zidane!"

"What?" He finally tore his eyes away from her, not even batting an eyelash at the lovey-dovey harassment he was getting from others in the room.

"Do you remember that?"

He scrunched his face, now feeling a little embarrassment. "Remember what, exactly?"

Cinna and Marcus groaned, face palming.

"Don't bring it up if he doesn't remember!" the apricot-clad thief whined, rocking back and forth on the floor.

"Nobody wants to hear this story!" Marcus agreed, letting his head fall onto the rail that kept him from toppling to the ground.

"_What_?!" Zidane asked.

Dagger was the one to answer, the smile never leaving her face. "Do you remember when you guys tried to get Cinna to date a girl?"

His eyes squinted at his teammates as he tried to remember. "Was she a redhead?"

"Redder than Blank's hair!" Zenero called out in delight.

"Really tall and thin?" The blonde questioned again.

"_Way_ taller than Cinna, and _way_ thinner too," Blank grinned impishly, evil sparking in his eyes.

Steiner and Beatrix's heads swiveled back and forth, watching the banter continue. They were much older than everyone else in the room, besides maybe Baku (who was a complete kid at heart anyways), and Fratley, who seemed to level out to their age in Bermecian years. Yet, both enjoyed seeing all the light hearted concerns from everyone else in the room… It helped them escape, if even for just one night, the horrors that would come for them sooner or later.

"Hey!" Cinna whined again, rolling over on the dusty wooden floor. "She wasn't that –"

"Don't deny it, she was drop dead gorgeous, and you were totally in love!" Marcus finally joined in, and Cinna's eyes widened like a kicked puppy – he had been betrayed by his only ally in this argument.

"I'm totally telling Mikoto you just said that!" He lashed out, leaping up and pointing his finger in Marcus' general direction.

He shrugged, "That was six years ago, Cinna… She's not going to care."

"Well… Uh, well!" The thief stuttered, unsure of what kind of comeback he should have yell back.

Zidane turned his head so the back of it was once again on Dagger's lap. Her fingers still combed through his hair affectionately, sitting cross legged on the floor. Her chocolate eyes were dazzling, even in the grungy light of their old hide out, as she watched her friends bicker back and forth.

"Well come on!" Eiko groaned, suddenly awake again, "_Somebody_ tell the story!"

"I've got it!" Blank volunteered almost instantly – probably just waiting for someone to want to _hear_ it just as much as he wanted to _tell_ it. "Six years ago in Lindblum, when the streets were still relatively free, and Tantalus could run around without being _too_ recognized…"

Zidane closed his eyes. The memory started to reveal itself as soon as Blank began to tell it, and a smile lit up his face. He sighed happily, remembering with more and more clarity.

"_Just talk to her, Cinna…" A twelve-year-old Zidane nudged him a little bit. "She's not going to bite you."_

_He cringed and watched the girl, at least four years his superior, lean over the stand to pick up her purchase. All eyes were captured by this girl, her silky crimson tresses falling over her shoulders._

"_There's no way she's just sixteen…" Blank mumbled, leaning forward in anticipation as she bowed, if possible, _further_ over the stand._

"_Boys!" Ruby barked, causing all of them to jump, and stare off into space conspicuously. She put her hands on her hips, flicking her dirty blonde hair from her face. "Leave that poor darlin' alone!"_

"_Even Ruby thinks she's cute!" Blank whined, planting his hand on his face and slowly sliding it off. His eyes shined in mischief when she glared at him._

_The arguing duo didn't notice when the girl let out a tinkling laugh, sounding more like bells than anything else. She turned with a sharp eye to look at the group of boys, and winked at one of them, though no one knew who._

_Marcus, being the oldest, knew very well that the girl wasn't interested in any of them, and when he locked eyes with Zidane, he knew the blonde also understood that fact. But boy were they going to pass up the chance to make Cinna spill his heart out? Nope._

"_I think that she just winked at you, Cinna!" Marcus told him in a hushed, but excited voice._

"_Wh-what?" He stuttered before glaring at him, "I think she was winking at you. Actually, I'm almost one hundred percent sure!"_

_Marcus scoffed, though some part of him was flattered that Cinna thought so. It must have been the hormonal teenager in him. The war had made them all grow up – far beyond their years… And yet, at times like these, their age leaked out in their actions and thoughts._

"_Come on Cinna, you're the cute one!" Zidane prompted him, an excited grin overtaking his face. "Go talk to her!"_

"_What?!" Cinna gasped, choking on his own breath, "One," he started, crossing his arms, "you do _not_ think I'm the cute one, you think _Blank_ is the cute one –"_

"_Cinna!" Zidane whined, stomping his foot. The plumper thief held up his hand in prudent arrogance._

"_- _and two_, I am _not_ going to talk to her!"_

"_It's not like you're proposing!" Blank joined in, and as if acting as one, all three of them gave Cinna a giant shove towards the girl, who was stopped at another stand closer to them this time._

_He yelped and stumbled forward with more force than the three boys intended. With a wince and wide eyes, they watched as their friend bouldered into the girl, crashing into the stand and putting a _gaping_ hole into the front of the wooden counter._

"_Uh oh…" Blank mumbled, and suddenly, the three of them were gone like the sneaky thieves they were, leaving Ruby staring dumbly at the mess. For a moment, she didn't realize they'd abandoned post, but once she did, she didn't waste time booking it either._

_All of Cinna's support was gone before he could even sit up._

"_Are you okay?" The girl asked, so obviously trying to stifle a laugh._

"_Ugh…" He snorted from the ground, yanking his head and shoulder from the hole. The stand owner didn't look particularly pleased. "My head! I think I'm bleeding! I need a hospital!"_

_The girl couldn't help it anymore. These kids – who she saw every once in a while on the street – were always trying to get this poor guy to come talk to her. It'd been happening for a week, and she played along, pretending that she didn't notice that they were so blatantly talking about _her_._

_But, instead of letting Cinna have it, and yelling at him, she let out a howl of laughter. His cheeks burned red when he realized that she was laughing, but at _him_! A mortified expression crossed his face, and his shoulders slumped._

_She tried to sober up when she saw his reaction – really she did, but only contained it to a fit of giggles instead. Slowly, she bent down towards him and extended a hand. "Let me help you…"_

_Cinna's face, void of all future facial hair, his baby fat still prominent in his face, and his armor just a little too tight on him, got even redder still, as he clutched her hand. She heaved him up with little to no effort – or at least if it cost her any energy at all, she didn't say anything – single handedly sparing his feelings._

"_Th-thanks…" He mumbled at her, trying to avoid her gaze._

"_You're… Cinna, right?"_

_Suddenly, his head snapped up and his eyes bored into hers. They were dazzling, his face a little _too_ hopeful._

"_You _know_ me?!"_

_She bit her lip. She didn't want to burst his bubble by saying that she had heard his name yelled by his friends more than once in the past week as they watched her – the one standing in front of her crushing so obviously hard. She wracked her brain. Where had she seen him before? Or what had she heard that could give her an edge?_

"_You're in that…" She chewed on the inside of her cheek. She was going to take a chance with this one. "Theater group, right? Tantalus?"_

_His face shined, "Yeah! How did you know?!"_

"_I've watched a couple of plays," this time, she wasn't lying._

"_Oh my gosh! This is – I can't – _wow_! So do you like want to go out sometime?!" He asked her excitedly, "I mean… I don't mean go out and sleep with me, but… wait, did I say that? I meant – go out and _shop_! Wait… I don't – uhh –"_

_She blinked, a little overwhelmed at his blunt style. "How about…" She turned him around and pointed her to a watch tower above the city, "If you can sneak in there tomorrow when the sun is the highest in the sky, we'll go on a little date? My treat!" Her tone was chipper and supportive, and he was spluttering._

"_S-seriously?!" He gasped._

_She bent down and kissed his cheek, "See you then!" And with that, she disappeared._

_Cinna, a ridiculous grin on his face, stood in the middle of the busy square, staring off in the direction she disappeared to. "When the sun is highest in the sky…"_

"_Cinna! Buddy!" Blank grinned as he jumped down from a building gutter, eyes gleaming. "Way to go!"_

_Marcus, Ruby, and Zidane soon followed, all with Cheshire smiles._

_The two other boys fist bumped with a wink, "All in a day's work!"_

"_What?! You guys pushed me, then abandoned me!" He shrieked, still flustered from the girl's suggestion. "You didn't do shit!"_

"_We're the reason you even _talked_ to her," Marcus told him, sounding far more smug than he should have. "You should be thanking us…"_

"_Yeah! A date when the sun is highest in the sky!" Zidane's grin was the biggest of them all._

"_When is that, anyways?" Cinna glanced up, watching the sun. It was at a strange position in the sky… Ever since Kuja had taken over mostly everything, the sun had a weird pull to it – probably because of the dark man's magic._

"_I guess we'll just have to wait and find out!" Blank said, patting him on the back._

"_You better _hope_ it doesn't rain!" Marcus spluttered, igniting hooting laughter from everyone but Cinna. His ears turned red with embarrassed anger, and he huffed before marching off, abandoning the rest of his crew._

_The joke eventually died down, via Baku's request ("Damn kids, shut the hell up before I beat you with your own fists!"), as the same thing repeated over and over to spark laughter got real annoying real fast._

_That is, until the next morning, when they all poked their heads out the window to see the streets completely dead. Wind howling so loud and strong, that if you stepped outside, you'd be blown away. Rain pelted the window noisily when the wind blew, further adding to the storm._

_Cinna was behind the rest of them, having been dreading going to the window. Slowly, they all turned to him. Instead of looks of pity, they had looks of strangled laughter. All was silence, a warning look spread over Cinna's face._

_Zidane made one choked snort of a laugh, and then _everyone_ had burst out into tear-evoking laughter._

"_I hate you all…" He mumbled, before climbing back up the latter and burying himself in everyone's blankets, not to be heard from the rest of the day._

* * *

"Ha. Ha. You guys are super funny!" Cinna crossed his arms, obviously still very sore about the subject.

Beatrix had the best grin on her face, turning between the boys sitting in front of her. "And you really didn't go out looking for her?"

"If Cinna's _fat ass_ could be picked up off the ground by the wind, I doubt a girl like _that_ could go out in that rain!" Marcus hooted, igniting another round of chortles.

"You are such a fucking ass!" Cinna growled, flopping down on the floor. "Oh, but I will never forget that beautiful scarlet hair, or those _legs_," he sighed.

Dagger glanced down at Zidane, a dazzling expression on her face. "Did _you_ even think so, Zidane?"

"Ahh, well…"

"He was a total lady's man back in the day! I don't care if we were just twelve, he had girls flocking better than Marcus did!" Cinna was quick to rat him out. He made a face at the loud thief, and then turned back to the raven.

"I can explain!" He yelled in mock alarm.

She rolled her eyes, a smile dancing over her features, "Whatever!"

"Alright idiots," Baku started, pushing off from his place closer to the fireplace, "We should get some rest… It's late, and I don't think we want to be sleeping on the job so early in the game."

Beatrix stood and stretched, pulling Steiner up with her, "He's right, I think we should probably head to bed!"

Marcus carefully moved Eiko, who hadn't been able to keep her eyes open during the story, so that she was comfortably surrounded by the mound of freshly cleaned pillows.

Baku invited Beatrix, Steiner, and Fratley in to share the enormous bed in his old room, saying he would feel guilty of everyone was cluttered on the loft the whole night. They agreed before he finished explaining his reasoning.

All of Tantalus squeezed together, squirming and hitting each other, and for a moment, Blank felt like they'd never left. Sure, there were a few extra additions, like Vivi, Dagger, and Eiko, but all in all, it was a good change, and he lay sprawled out in the middle (much to everyone's delight) with his hands tucked behind his head, grinning impishly at the ceiling.

To his right, Zidane was already fast asleep, Dagger trying in vain to keep her distance from him, but eventually snuggling into his side. Ruby laid the closest to the ladder, Vivi having collapsed almost right next to her. She had shifted a pillow under his head, balancing it on her knees so he was more comfortable.

Cinna and Marcus argued about who could have the wall, but in the end, Eiko sneakily (but very drowsily) rolled into the spot, the two of them not having the heart to move her. He could hear the quiet drum of voices from the adults below them, slowly dropping off until Baku was mumbling to himself in his sleep.

This was their home – their way of life, and they were back at it. Blank had to admit, as much as he hadn't wanted to be involved in a dangerous mission like this again, it was good to be home…

His real home…

* * *

"_That's Blank," Baku pointed to the five year old who crouched to himself in the corner, his young but angry eyes glaring at the wooden floor not too far away._

_A six year old Zidane peered up at Baku with wide curious eyes. "Why's he so mad?"_

_Baku shrugged, "We found him awhile ago – probably close to a half a year – in an alleyway across town," he shrugged, "but we don't know a lot about him; he doesn't talk much. Kind of a moody little shit if you ask me," Baku mumbled, not intending for the blonde to hear, but he did anyways._

_The genome turned his probing gaze towards the redhead who seemed to grow more irritable the longer Zidane's eyes were pressed upon him, though he never made eye contact._

"_Come on, you've got to meet the Zenero brothers! We picked them up just a few days ago – they're a riot!" Baku laughed merrily and wandered off, not bothering to see if the blonde was still with him or not._

_Zidane had wandered a long time. He didn't have a place to go, but by chance, he'd stumbled upon Lindblum, and ultimately: Baku, one of the higher ups in the Tantalus Theater Troupe._

_There were a lot of people older than him in the group. Those were the really serious actors and thieves… He had been mortified when the second in command had told him that they steal, but then, after it was explained that it was all to help those who needed it, he felt like these people were heroes._

_They would start Zidane's training, and all the other young ones, soon enough. Fighting and stealing – when you learned as a kid, was the easiest, because you could get away with more. People had mercy on you because you were young and impressionable._

"_Go away!" The blonde jumped, startled when the redhead's voice rang out to him. Excitedly, the genome stepped towards them._

_Instantly, the redhead known as Blank flinched back, fear, anger, and a whole lot more emotions mixing together in his emerald orbs. "Stay back!"_

"_Your name is Blank, right?" Zidane ventured, pretending not to hear the smaller boy in front of him. "I'm Zidane!"_

"_Cool," Blank bit out at him, "Now leave me alone!"_

"_Why are you so mad?" The denseness of the blonde was showing through as he innocently scooted closer to the boy on the floor._

_He shuffled, trying to crab-walk away, but Zidane was advancing too quickly._

"_Leave!" Blank demanded, his voice louder than even he intended it to be. Both boys were startled._

"_Did something happen to you?" Zidane whispered, remembering that awful night in Terra when both of his parents were struck down in front of him. The redhead didn't answer, so the blonde tried a new tactic. "Was it your mommy and daddy?"_

_The redhead stared at him, shocked, as though nobody else he'd ever met shared his same problem._

_Zidane nodded in encouragement, a sad sort of smile, far beyond his years overtaking his face. "I had a mommy and daddy, but some mean men hurt them, and now they aren't here anymore."_

_There was a long silence as Zidane slowly got lost in his own thoughts, forgetting that he was trying to get Blank to talk to him. After an eternity, a voice smaller than the one he heard before rang out._

"_Mine aren't here either."_

_Sapphire eyes locked on the fidgeting boy, but no words were said._

"_We were running… My ma and pa were holding me so tight, because I was what they ran for… that's what they said. And bad men were chasing us – chasing _everyone_ in this place…" He gestured all around him, tears filling his eyes. "And then scary noises boomed around, and then my parents weren't holding onto me or any of our stuff anymore. They were just gone. I tried finding them, but there were too many people…"_

_The redhead let out an unconditional sob that wracked his body from head to toe. He continued to do so, crying so hard that it sounded almost like coughing. Zidane sat, frightened, in front of him, unsure of what to do._

_He remembered the woman on the boat though, from a few years ago, who had comforted him on their way across the ocean, away from the horrible place he'd lost his family. He tried to mimic what she'd done for him._

_Crawling closer, he put a comforting arm around the redhead who probably would have stiffened had he not been all wrapped up in crying. "It'll be okay."_

"_How?! My momma and papa are gone!" He yelled, and even at six years old, Zidane knew this was the first time Blank had talked to anyone besides the mention of his name… and this was the first time he had talked to anyone about what happened to his family. "There's nobody left to take care of me! There's nobody to love me and make sure that I'm okay and that I have things to make me happy!"_

_Both would look back on this later, and reflect on how much Blank had changed. While Benero and Zenero had always been the hearty twins, Marcus had always been tough, Cinna had always been a goof, and Zidane had always been the most caring of Tantalus, Blank wouldn't continue to be the spoiled brat he was when he first joined the group._

_He came from a noble family. They had money which ultimately meant, for the short five years Blank had spent with him, he received virtually anything he desired. His parents' (and that seemed like the whole world to a five year old) revolved around _him. _When he didn't get what he wanted, he was a brat – throwing tantrums, lashing out. It reflected in his behavior towards Zidane before he broke down._

_He didn't know how to fight and wouldn't be good at the training when it started. He wouldn't want to start out at the bottom and work his way up, and he expected to be better than everyone else even though he really, honestly was the _worst_, he wouldn't continue to be like that for the rest of his life._

_The redhead would always be moody, but would never take advantage of things. Zidane was his first friend, and he learned more from the first one he'd ever opened up to, than anyone else in the world – including his parents._

"_But you've got me…"_

_That stopped Blank almost right away. He stared with tear stained cheeks, baffled at the blonde._

"_And Baku found you and picked you up, and I know that that means that he loves you too…" He cocked his head to the side, "Baku said there's lots of people in Tantalus, and we all stick together… like a family. So even though it's not your mommy and daddy, you still have people who care, right?"_

_Blank wiped his nose off on the back of his arm, his orbs shining, "Do you really think so?"_

"_I just have this feeling," Zidane smiled and stood up, "We should find Baku and keep meeting everyone, don't you think?" He held a hand out in front of him, ready to hoist the redhead up._

_For the first time, Blank relied on someone else to help him, and grabbed his hand, the first smile in over six months finally spreading over his lips._

* * *

Zidane's eyes fluttered open. The sun wasn't leaking through the halted gears on one wall yet, so he knew he still had time to sleep. Everyone else's breathing was still even, and Cinna was snoring loudly.

His heart ached, and he put a hand over it, wondering if it was because he discovered a very precious memory to him, or because he knew now what happened to Blank's family that propelled him into Tantalus.

Lulling his head to the side, he saw the redhead, still sprawled out in the same position he'd fallen asleep in, and he frowned. Blank put on a tough show, but he was really just as hurt as everyone else.

He remembered hearing about Steiner's older brother, and how the war took him. Dagger's mother, his parents, Blank's parents, Vivi's grandpa, and who _knew_ how many others in their small group had lost their families because of this war. His stomach churned uneasily.

When would the heart-shattering stop?

* * *

**A/N: So I know most of that chapter was just flashbacks, but I figured it'd be cool to do some more, since I've stopped doing them recently. I also apologize for my too-mature five/six year old writing… I just… can't write kids. Forgive me :P**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Leave some love!**

**-zesty-**


	61. Chapter 60: Just a Peek

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 60: Just a Peek**

"They were all cleared to enter the city," A man bowed down in front of her, and she swept her blonde hair out of her face in irritation.

"Surely there has to be some clue –"

"They are all citizens of different places. We would have no way to track if they were lying or not." He waved a stack of papers in the air, his eyes tight with worry. The lines of age on his face seemed more prominent in his stress-inducing explanation, "But, I know that their papers were one hundred percent true –"

"That doesn't mean anything," She warned him, sighing and turning away. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, m'lady…" He left her in silence as she cast her view upon the rooftops once again.

"Who are you, and what do you seek in my city?" She breathed, turning away sharply, and gliding back indoors, not another word said.

* * *

"I dislike walking around so… exposed…" Beatrix mumbled.

"Darlin' you just gotta let yer feminine side take over!" Ruby shook her head at the brunette, constantly playing with her skirts, and adjusting her strange top. The former knight did _not_ like walking around in regular citizens' clothing.

"But without a sword, if someone were to recognize us –"

"There's the fresh veggie stand!" She clutched the woman's hand and yanked her forward, "Let's get there before they run out!"

Beatrix sighed, miserable. Ruby was trying to make the best of it, there was no doubt in that, but there was the fact that Ruby ran around in a dress all the time, while the woman was always wrapped tight in layers of comfortable cotton and most importantly: _armor_.

The girl hummed a little, completely comfortable standing freely in the city. "Aren't you afraid someone will recognize you?" She questioned the blue haired teenager once they had left the stand.

The girl adjusted her satchel of fresh foods, before turning to her superior. "Hm? Oh… No, I wasn't that good."

"What do you mean?" Beatrix tilted her head, her large curls falling over her shoulder.

"What I mean is, in Tantalus, when we was still doin' some plays… I wasn't that good, I don't think anyone would recognize me." The expression on her face told Beatrix that Ruby cared a little more than what she let on, her wide almond eyes almost _sad_.

"Do you miss it?"

"Actin' was my favorite thing ever… But, everyone's lost lots of things they loved to the war… I reckon if all I lose is my actin', then life ain't so bad."

The woman was quiet as they walked from stand to stand, trying to maneuver around the bustle of citizens. She thought a lot about what Ruby had said. Did that mean her family was long gone? She didn't lose anything at four or five years old when this war started?

"Ruby?" She whispered, barely above the chatter around them.

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you a very personal question?" She bit her tongue, nervous that the younger girl would get upset when she asked.

"Go ahead," she smiled with surprising encouragement, and Beatrix felt younger than Ruby for just a few moments.

"When did you join Tantalus?"

She beamed fondly, "I was eleven years old, almost twelve… That story they told you 'bout Cinna last night, I had been in Tantalus goin' on two years."

This shocked her. From the way they all acted around each other, she figured that Ruby had joined when she was much younger. It turned out that the girl had only known Zidane for two years before he was taken, and really, that surprised the woman.

"Were you originally from Lindblum?"

"Treno," this astonished her as well. Ruby let on an all knowing smile, not bothered by the questions at all. It was rare that Tantalus was ever asked any questions about their past. They were all seen as one, and people got the impression that they'd all grown up together. In most cases, it was true, in some, not so much. She continued her answer, despite Beatrix's silence, "Even though Treno is under Kuja's rule, he has a hard time controllin' it. Back then, it was even more difficult because his small hold was a lot like Lindblum. Black mages filled the streets, but he didn't have 'nough grip to do much of anything. It was too wild. Still prolly is."

"So why did you leave?"

"I still don' know who my Daddy is… My mama – she wanted to be an actress too. She was a show girl, dressin' up in pretty costumes and dancin' and singin' the night away. I grew up in that kind of light. I wasn't ever allowed to perform, but I grew up watchin' it all the time… She cared 'bout me best she could, but her dreams came first, and she always taught me to be that way too… I tried askin' bout my daddy, but she wouldn't tell me much. Eventually, I got too curious and came to Lindblum to look for him…"

"Why here?"

"That's the only hint she ever gave me," Ruby shrugged, "but then they passed that law 'bout papers, and since I didn't have birth papers from Treno, I was never allowed to go back. Even though time and time again I traveled back to Treno with Tantalus, I never stopped to see if my ma was still 'round…"

"Doesn't that bother you?" The woman's heart went out to the seemingly unhindered girl.

"I guess a 'lil, but…" She glanced around, and they saw Cinna and Marcus weaving in and out of the people, stealing things craftily, and having a great time doing it. Then her eyes slid to Blank who was pressed against the wall, irritated that he was cut out of the fun. There was a girl slinking around in front of him, tossing her hair and batting her eyelashes, trying to gain his attention – and her attention was the reason he couldn't participate. When Ruby saw the girl, it didn't even phase her anymore – her and Blank had been through too much. "This is my family… and I wouldn't trade them for nothin'! Not to find out who my daddy was, and not to see my mama again."

"Wow," Beatrix nodded in approval, "you're really brave to have an attitude like that."

"I don't gotta fake it though, it's the truth!"

Before the knight could say anything else, she slowed down on the cobblestone street, as the two women glanced over to their lefts. A lone woman was standing outside a door, children peaking out the dusty window. Some had bandages around their heads, and others had tear stained cheeks. The woman outside continued to stare at Ruby and Beatrix, but neither felt threatened.

It wasn't too long before Ruby gasped in recognition. "That's Tantalus' old performing theater…" She murmured to Beatrix.

Making a quick, rash decision, the blue haired girl steered herself in the direction of the woman outside the shop. "Ruby!" She hissed, though was unable to stop the girl.

Upon hearing her name, an all-knowing smile passed over the woman's lips. She looked a bit older than Baku, her eyes a dull hazel, but shining in the sky's sunlight. Her arms opened towards the girl who moved towards her.

"Do you know who I am, Ruby?" The woman asked, her sleek hair, growing lighter with age, hanging around her face.

She glanced up at the sign.

_T. Theatre Maison_.

They had shortened the name from Tantalus to just T because of the reports of rebellion revolving around the crew before they fled from their home so long ago.

The younger generation starting with Marcus and ending down the line with Blank, the youngest, were the future of Tantalus – all the other members being too well known to continue to aid in rebellion. Baku lost contact– especially after Zidane's disappearance, and their flee to Dali – with almost all of them.

"You used to be in Tantalus…" She murmured to the woman.

The lines around her eyes thickened when she smiled down at her. "Not just in it…"

"The leader," Ruby finished for her, "when I had joined… It was yer decision to keep most the older members in Lindblum while we fled the city… You put Baku in charge." All of it was coming back to her now. Make the woman six years younger, and make her hair a little shorter, and tied in a tight fishtail braid, a little theater make up, and different clothing, and you had yourself –

"Adriana Rothings," the woman finished as Ruby gazed up at her in disbelief.

"We thought ya'll were dead," Ruby murmured.

Beatrix hung back, unsure of the situation, before suddenly both of them were being beckoned into the old theater.

"In this war, I am a very insignificant being… I knew so many of us would never be able to hide…" She shot a sideways glance at Ruby, "We're old, Ruby… too old."

"You weren't back then," she interjected, but was silenced.

"Baku knew what was best for his group of trainees… I thought I knew what was best for all of us… It turns out Baku was right…" She sighed, rubbing her temples. "Most of us have long passed… The rebellions that have risen in Lindblum consisted of many of your old superiors, Ruby… But I am one of few who are still left…"

She lead them down a long narrow hallway as Ruby tried to let her words sink in. The story that Baku had told them? The one about Adriana forcing them to flee while the others stayed hidden in the city, all eventually sinking into regular lives… It was a lie?

"So Baku lied to us?"

She pressed her lips into a hard line. "If he did, it was not my decision. Perhaps he did not want you thinking sourly of the rest of your family…"

Ruby thought on. Baku, the second in command of Tantalus' large family at the time, had told Adriana fleeing the city was the only option if they wanted to live. She had disagreed, and now… only a few of the people she once knew were still alive?

But her thoughts quickly melted away when the wide ticket area gave way to the large auditorium. She gasped when she saw what was inside.

Children ranging from five to fifteen were running about, playing, talking, and helping teach each other. There were a few adults scurrying here and there – some cleaning up, some giving out small portions of food, and just a few in the far corner up on the stage, taking care of sick and injured children.

"This is what we do now…"

Ruby's cherry oak eyes widened as she put a hand over her mouth, not sure if she felt proud that Adriana spent her time now looking after the children, or sick because there were so many without families – so many ailing and injured.

"Where did they all come from?" Beatrix asked, her voice just as stricken with a sense of grief and shock.

"We found most of them, just the way that we used to find them when Ruby was young…" She shook her head, "But some find us. They hear of us… These days, not a lot of soldiers dwell in the city, and the ones that do take pity because they're children. The black mages don't come in here – their orders are to watch suspicions outside… not within."

"Ad! Ad!" A young girl came zipping up to them, her brilliant eyes a kaleidoscope of different hues of blue, breaking into small fragments, her eyes shining with a marble affect. "I found a flower and I brought it for _you_!"

The older woman bent down in front of the girl, examining the flower in her hand. It was red, and looked like it was wilting – maybe from being plucked from its stem, or the hot sun beating down outside.

"That's beautiful Johanna…" She cupped the little girl's cheek, who began to giggle under the older woman's touch. "I'll keep it with me forever," she smiled tenderly and placed the flower behind her ear, before the little girl turned towards Ruby and Beatrix.

She became almost shy, tucking into herself and fluttering her eyelashes bashfully. "You're both pretty," she told them, clasping her hands behind her back.

"Thank ya, darlin'," Ruby told her with a smile.

Immediately the girl gasped in excitement, grabbing the thief's hand, "Come play!" She demanded, yanking on her, "Come play!"

A chuckling Ruby was pulled away as Beatrix crossed her arms. "Who are you?' Adriana finally asked her.

"I'm Beatrix," she nodded once, her eyes sweeping the room, "Tantalus teamed up with the Rebellion years ago."

"Beatrix… The Captain of the Red Rose?" She gasped, "You mean… Tantalus is with _that_ resistance? Lead by Regent Cid?! I hear you have the Princess of Alexandria with you! Is this true? How many of there are you?" She clamped her mouth shut when Beatrix held up a hand.

"Most of your questions, I unfortunately cannot answer." She sighed, feeling a little heavy-hearted. "But yes, I am Beatrix, Captain of the Rose Brigade and thus, Captain of the Red Rose… Tantalus is with us, almost our second-in-command group. Regent Cid is with us, and we are currently forced to scatter around the four continents, trying to find people to come back with us, train with us, and make one last stand against Kuja with us."

The woman was silent for a long time. "And you've come to gather people from Lindblum?"

"Anyone who will help. You could come… You could come back and help win this war and –"

She gestured in front of her. "These children need me… I was a fool back then. I was scared to leave Lindblum – scared that the children we had taken in and trained were not ready for such an escape, even though they'd been training for half of their lives…" Adriana wrung her hands in front of her, shifting her weight from one foot to another. "I cannot put _these_ children in danger."

"Ruby and the others…" Beatrix started, unsure if she should finish but ended up blurting out the words anyways, "They're all some of the best fighters I've ever seen…"

"Baku trained that bunch… I didn't want to bring in kids. I didn't want to spend our resources training them _and_ giving them a place to stay… I didn't want them involved in this terrible war… But I was wrong – I know they have grown well…"

"You knew Ruby well?" Beatrix asked, realizing that this woman wouldn't listen to any of her pleas to help them.

"Though she was part of Baku's team, she and I bonded… She told me about her quest to find her father. I couldn't help her, but I could be there for her like a supporting and loving mother… I could sometimes put her first, unlike her birth mother, and that's all she wanted." The way Adriana spoke was mechanical – as though something had been torn away from her, and her answers were monotone, read from a script.

Beatrix sighed and said no more, turning to watch Ruby play with the kids. "I didn't know she liked kids."

"Loves 'em," The woman smiled tenderly, then let her shoulders slump as she turned to the side. "I would appreciate it, if for now, you didn't mention any of this to the others… Though I do not understand why Baku lied to make me look better, he did it for a reason he wishes to keep to himself."

"I won't say anything…" She nodded, "Would it be okay to bring others here? To help? Play with the kids?"

Adriana let on a small, old smile. "I would like that, and I think they would too."

Beatrix smiled back at her, feeling like they were making more of an impact on people than they originally thought.

* * *

Vivi rubbed his eyes, obviously uncomfortable in the foreign sunlight. It wasn't blocked out by trees, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd spent so much time outside… Alexandria… he guessed, but that didn't count, considering he was locked in a dungeon for five years.

He had to admit, he was surprised that nobody had recognized him yet. They ignored him, much like they ignored other children in the city. Or maybe they did see him, but knew he didn't mean any harm. Who knew? Maybe more people were talking to Sally than he thought…

Baku, Steiner, and Fratley had gone to see her today, and he twisted at his hands nervously, hoping they'd like her. He really believed that Sally could help them, even if the first time she'd met Zidane she'd been hostile. To Vivi however, she was nice and understanding – willing to listen to his tale before she put him in her suspicions.

Zidane was nowhere to be found when they woke up this morning, except that Blank had heard him mumble something about 'rediscovering the city'. The idea sounded so incredibly _Zidane_ that nobody had questioned his decision.

That stuck him with the Tantalus boys and Dagger, who all roamed the city half trying to find their genome friend, and half seeing what there was to see, getting information, and checking out places that _might_ house people who could help them.

So far, the adventure had been pretty uneventful. A couple of mages actually stared at him as he walked by, making him think his disguise wasn't as ordinary as he had originally thought, but he ignored it and tried to walk with confidence, though his knees threatened to buckle every time he felt those misty yellow eyes on him. Blank had had a small run in with a girl, but he told her off and she quickly moved on.

Dagger walked protectively by his side while the others bounded around ahead of him. She hummed a little bit – a tune Vivi had maybe heard her sing before, but he couldn't be sure. They were quiet for a couple more minutes, watching Cinna, Marcus, Zenero, and Blank fool around ahead of them.

Suddenly Cinna stopped, his eyes bulging like he couldn't breathe, though a gasp was very audibly sucked in from his mouth.

"What?!" Marcus demanded, all of them stopping to peer at his face.

A grin suddenly overtook his facial features and he pointed with a shaking arm. "Weapons shop…"

Needless to say that the four of them scrambled away, abandoning their position in front of the girl and mage. Dagger crossed her arms, fidgeting for a moment.

"You can go too if you want," Vivi offered, "I'll be right here when you get back."

She sighed and stared at him. "I'm sorry Vivi! I told myself I wouldn't get rowdy with the boys… Lindblum is the first big city I've _ever_ been in – that I can remember anyways –" her voice suddenly began to get excited, and she clasped her hands in front of her, brown eyes sparkling, "- and a staff just isn't very affective and –"

"Go!" He laughed at her, and soon she was stumbling over herself, wanting to see everything there was to see in the town. After all, considering the life she lead, the horrible thought crossed Vivi's mind that this might be the _only_ chance she would get to explore a large city.

The mage's glowing eyes scanned the area once the girl had reached the rugged wooden door leading into the shop. It was deader in this district of the city, but there were still plenty of people.

There was one man holding a large paper bag, and it clinked, so Vivi guessed there were a few potions, or other vials of medicine inside. He was tripping over small things, unable to see the road in front of him.

There was a Bermecian and elf chatting to each other as they side stepped a child on the ground. The girl was blinking hard, staring at the old doll in her hands, trying to hold in tears. She was constantly biting her lip as to capture her breath and hold it inside of her, just so she wouldn't make a sound.

Her light blonde hair feathered in the wind, blowing around her as she clutched the cloth doll against herself. A mage stood not too far away, eyes ever trained on the little girl, as though she'd do something rash and spontaneous, but he never moved.

Vivi watched as the man stumbled, almost running into the two girls who had been talking before. They slashed in front of him, not even realizing they were cutting him off. A rock tumbled backward from under their feet, and he stepped on it.

His shoes must not have been the best, because it slid out from underneath him as he hissed in pain. "Sorry," he mumbled loudly, even though the girls paid him no mind. He quickly switched directions, though was going too fast for his movements.

He knocked into the little girl, trying so hard not to cry, and the doll flew from her hands. The heavy rain from days prior (luckily they'd missed it entirely) still loomed in large puddles, unable to dry quickly because the sun was hidden from that portion of stone due to the awkwardly angled buildings.

The little mage watched in despair as it flopped into the water. He guessed it was the kind of cloth that would be ruined if it soaked in the water, and his suspicions were confirmed when the girl finally burst into tears. He watched for a moment as she tried to reach it, not wanting to get wet, but falling into the puddle anyways.

Her dress had mud on it, and her hair clung to her face. She scampered away, staring miserably at the doll as she cried. The three people involved in the accident were now gone, vanished like thin air.

"Hey," Vivi said in a high pitched voice. The girl looked about Eiko's age, though not as brave in the face of war. He wandered over to her, and helped her stand, guiding her to the sun. "Go in the sun, its warmer."

"But my doll!" She whined, tears streaking down her already wet and dirtied face.

"Let me get it!" Vivi meandered closer to the doll, leaned forward. He was pretty clumsy, but he tried hard to keep his balance for the little girl. Stretching his finger tips, he got a hold of the limp string that was the dolls hair, and snatched up, holding it close to his body.

She clawed for it, crying harder, if possible. "Are you okay?" He asked her, handing it back.

The blonde girl clutched it to her chest, much like Vivi did when he first snagged it from the water. The liquid gushed out of it, and she tried to ignore the fact the face would probably always be distorted.

"My mama's gone! She told me to wait for her, but I waited and waited, and then I looked and looked and she's _gone_!" She wailed, "I'm cold and hungry and I can't remember how to get home!" She whimpered.

Vivi's heart went out to the young girl. He plopped on the ground next to her, and very carefully, lit the stone in front of him on fire. She leapt up, ready to flee, before he stopped her.

"It's okay!" He insisted, reaching his hand out, plunging it into the flame. "It's magic, see… It doesn't burn like regular fire…" His eyes blinked curiously at the girl who mirrored his expression as she stared at the flickering fire. "It's not even hot… Just warm enough to dry off you and your dolly!"

She went to throw it into the fire, but he stopped her gently. For some reason, he felt so much older than this young girl, who would probably out live him without seeing the horrors of war and death. Something that had surrounded Vivi against his will for the past year. "Careful! Hold it back, just incase… I wouldn't want to ruin it."

They only sat there for a few moments before a shadow hovered over them. Both glanced up at the same time, and the girl fell back, squealing. She darted behind Vivi, who stood staring straight up, eyes narrowing.

The mage that towered over them stared for a few moments, before doing something that shocked the both of them. He bent down, his pristine hat shielding his face for a moment, before he stood straight again, holding the doll up in his hands.

"Don't you want this?" His _voice_ surprised them more than anything, as his eyes filled with amused confusion. "Your doll?"

Vivi slowly took the doll, uncomprehending. The girl snatched it from him, mumbled a thank you, and then scampered off, too scared to stay by the fire that warmed her. Laughter from other children the next street over calmed Vivi's fears that she'd be by herself.

"Who are you? I haven't seen you before…" The mage looked around, a bounce in his movement. "I haven't seen many people before though. Everything from before felt like a haze, and I don't know! It's like I can see clearer now and –"

"You're aware!" Vivi squeaked.

"Aware? What's aware? Who is 'you're'?!"

"Who do you want to be?" Vivi asked, tilting his head, going with it, instead of trying to understand it.

"Well… who _should_ I be?"

All at once, this strange occurrence in the emptied square had Vivi smiling widely. He didn't answer the mage, whose attention span broke away from the littler one quickly as his eyes wandered around the square.

He was muttering a _lot_ of questions, but never quite said them loud enough for the other black mage to hear.

"You're aware!" Vivi burst again, the sudden thought causing horror to screw up his face. He grabbed onto the mage's hand and tugged on him. "We've got to get you out of sight!"

"Sight? Hmm… Why? What's this sight? Is it a food? How do I know what food is –" Vivi didn't let him finish, just dashed around the corner, hoping that he didn't catch the attention of _too many_ more black mages.

* * *

Dagger stepped out of the shop, feeling disappointed. All the boys were still drooling over the swords, and she thought she'd be interested in _something_ there… But she should have known it was a shop ultimately run by Kuja… there wasn't going to be any blade fit for a white mage there.

Her eyes immediately began scanning for Vivi. They trained in on the spot she'd left him, and she froze. The sun was high in the sky now – almost all shadows shrunk down to outline the tall buildings, not much bigger than they were.

"Vivi?" She called, jogging down the steps. Her hair whipped around her face as she jerked her head around, trying to locate the black mage. _Stupid, stupid!_ Her head screamed at her. She should have never left Vivi out there alone – not when he could have been recognized so easily.

With her heart hammering in her chest, she whirled around, diving back into the shop. "Vivi's not there!" The Tantalus boys immediately ripped their attention away, and were stumbling out of the shop even before Dagger could realize what was going on.

"Maybe he's back home!" Blank suggested after a few minutes of searching around. They all came back around the corner to see Dagger still standing hopelessly in the middle of the square.

She was staring at the small fire, almost ready to go out in the middle of the brick. She glanced up at the boys, "This is from Vivi, I know it is…" Her eyes narrowed as she wrapped her arms around her middle, trying to keep herself upright. "What happened?"

"Let's go see if we can find him back at the hideout," Cinna told her again, and ran ahead with Marcus. Blank grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

"It'll be fine, Dagger… I'm sure he's got quite the story to tell us!"

They raced back towards the house, unsure of what they would find when they got back. Eiko was still there. She might have put on a tough front, but the events of late had finally caught up with the girl, and she hardly had the energy to do _anything_. They prayed that she'd at least _seen_ the black mage.

When they got there though and pushed on the door, they found it locked. Marcus took the liberty of kicking it in, his face menacing as they all poured through the door. Inside was something they did _not_ expect to see.

Eiko's face was light up with delight, and a smile tugged on the corners of her lips. She looked absolutely enthused to be watching the scene play out in front of her. Vivi was on the ground, speaking animatedly about something, and every couple of moments, an unfamiliar mage intercepted the conversation.

"Who are you?!" Marcus demanded after the initial shock.

Vivi jumped up as the other mage cowered further down on the floor. "Wait! Guys! He's good!"

"Good?! There are no good mages here, Vivi!" Blank hissed with urgency.

The littler black mage shook his head, "You don't understand… He _was_ one of Kuja's mages… but he became aware!" A memory flickered in their minds. Becoming aware meant the mages developed their own thoughts… broke out from Kuja's control. "And…" If they could, they would see that Vivi was grinning from ear to ear, "He wants to help!"

* * *

**A/N: I think this might be the first chapter I didn't show you guys what was going on with Zidane at all :P That'll be fixed, haha, don't worry!**

**I hope you enjoyed this one! Sorry if the whole Adriana/Ruby/Baku thing was kind of confusing. If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask!**

**-zesty- **


	62. Chapter 61: Love Letters and Flowers

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 61: Love Letters and Flowers**

Zidane's eyes eventually got used to the sun staring him down. The wind was sturdier at this height, not being blocked by all of the brick buildings and warm bustling bodies below. He leaned on the bell behind him – long ago abandoned after a crack adorned its side from weather.

Every so often, he spotted doves in his peripheral vision, landing somewhere close behind him, taking refuge in the shade and vines that stuck to the small tower. He knew he was completely alone up here, and if he kept very still, the doves wouldn't be frightened and fly off.

The blonde inwardly sighed. He'd been up there for more than half the day. His pathetic claim about _rediscovering the city_ had somehow gone unchallenged, though he hadn't done much of that yet. Sure, it was easier to see everything up there, but he wasn't thinking about Lindblum at all…

"_Give Dagger a choice…"_

That's what Lysandra had told him. He smiled fondly when he realized that it was easy for even _strangers_ to figure out that he loved Dagger. The thief fell in love with the Princess – how original. But it was more than that… At this point in the game, he was as much a thief as she was a princess… It was in his nature, in his blood, and yet – it seemed trivial and was just a stupid title.

What the woman had said was true… Though they might have found happiness in each other during war, Lysandra had wished Nathan didn't love her – that she didn't love him. It left too much out in the open, and no matter how hard you prepared, you'd never be ready for gut wrench of heart break. Dagger didn't deserve that…

"_You're asking me to kind of… dump her?"_

And so he was left with his decision. He knew what he should do. He _knew_ he should let her go, and tell her to do the same. Even in death, it would break his heart to know she'd never smile again, or grace the world with her laugh, or do things that made her _Dagger_.

"_I think you should tell her what your heart says… But I think you should never trap someone into a commitment with the times of war…"_

Was she trapped? Was he trapped also? _You're looking at it wrong if you think you're trapped when you're in love…_ His mind tried to reason with him. And yet he had this gnawing feeling that she was right.

But how? How to tell Dagger in a way that she'd understand? Instantly, his mind thought to tell her that he loved her. But why would he do that? He'd be trying to get the girl to move on and spilling that for only the _second_ time really wouldn't be the right way to do it.

But he didn't want to die while his last words to the girl being that he didn't love her. He didn't want her to live on with that heartbreak, because he _knew_ no matter how hard he tried to shake it, Zidane telling her that would stick with her forever, because he wouldn't be there to tell her the truth.

He groaned, letting his head lull forward until his chin was resting on his collarbone. This dying business was a real pain in the ass.

"You've been up here for a long time…"

Zidane had been sitting with his feet dangling over the dangerous ledge of the balcony. One ill movement, and he could have been paint splattered on the cobblestone. Especially considering if he looked right down, there was a group of children – well that probably wouldn't have ended so well.

His hands tightened around the railing and he flailed about in surprise, whipping around to see a woman standing behind him, her large billowing dress scrunched between the mossy wall and the ancient bell.

"Where did you come from?!" He demanded with exasperation. One of his hands clutched at his chest, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.

"I saw you from over there…" She had a small, amused grin on her face as she pointed a delicate and poised hand to his left, and when his eyes finally landed on the spot she was pointing, he nodded.

Another balcony a little bit lower than the watch and bell tower he sat upon, with full view of the city, and an even fuller view of his perch.

"Of course," he smiled at her politely, but didn't know what else to say. Why was she here?

"You look troubled," she told him, leaning forward slightly, her hands crossed in front of her waist.

"I've got a lot on my mind," he sighed, leaning against the golden bell.

The woman wasted no time in taking a seat on the stone ledge, leaning against the support beam. He wanted to tell her that probably wasn't safe, but she seemed to know what she was doing.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Who are you again?" He asked her almost immediately after she'd finished. He knew he sounded rude, and it wasn't like him, but there was something about a woman noticing him from halfway across the city, and then proceeding to come ask him why he was troubled that just seemed… off to him.

She smiled, "My name isn't important."

He narrowed his eyes at her, leaning towards her slightly. "You might be someone I don't want to talk to," though he wore a dazzling smile, she knew he was being serious.

"If you do not push for mine, I will not push for yours," she hesitated for a moment, seeing if he would catch on. Before he had the chance to react, however, she continued, "You name might trigger a… recognition that I don't want to report."

His lips puckered. So she knew who he was, but as long as he didn't press for details about her, she would stay silent about him? It was risky, but seemed fair. He voiced this and she let out a lady-like, chiming laugh.

"Now, about your troubles?" She asked after she sobered up. A grin was still apparent on her face as he sighed.

"There's this girl…"

"Ooo!" She squealed, clapping her hands together daintily. The lines around her eyes crinkled, showing she was older than she looked when she stared at him with a poised expression. "That is so _exciting_! I haven't heard about things like this in _years_!"

He glanced at her being. Her dress was embellished with shining gold thread, glittering beads, and a fine, fresh silk. Her long, thin blonde hair was curled up to her head, held together with gold combs sparkling with rhinestones and jewels. Her eyelashes were thick, and her face was powdered. Her hands adorned little white gloves, the sheen of satin glinting off of them in the sun. She didn't look poor. Did she not speak with people?

"Continue!" She ushered him, an excited flame dancing in her eyes.

"I love her," before he could say much more, she was squealing and cooing again. It took a few moments for her to clear her throat and beckon him to continue again. "But times are…" he chewed his lip. What to say to not give too much away? After all, though he was positive she knew who exactly she was talking to, technically she didn't. "Rough," he decided on, "And I don't know if I should hold her down, tied to me… when… something could happen…"

A tender look crossed her face. It was brief, and she immediately masked her expression – expertly, he might have added – but for that fleeting moment, it was genuine, and it peaked his interest. It's like she knew exactly what she was talking about.

"My dear," she spoke, all traces of humor leaving her voice, as ounces of wisdom flooded into her tone. "You are so young…" She reached out a hand, as to grasp his hand in comfort, but thought better of it, and settled it awkwardly in her lap. "There is no need for you to be thinking these things… Let what will happen, happen! Do not think so much on choices… Sometimes, if you wait just long enough, the right decision will come to you after no thought at all."

He let on a half smile. He didn't know who this woman was, but she was right. He was thinking too much about what to say to Dagger, simply because _Lysandra_, though knowledgeable in most things, overanalyzed the situation, passing it onto the blonde.

"Thanks… That helped a lot… I think."

She smiled again at him. "You remind me so much of someone I knew!"

"Who?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

Those lines of age were back when she laughed her ringing giggle. She pressed her hands together in a certain classy immaturity – like she was acting so many years younger than her real age.

"He was _such_ a smart man. And a lady's man too! Oh, I would get so mad at him… but every time he'd come home with a bouquet of flowers and a sheepish expression on his face, and I just – oh I couldn't say no! He was fun and fleeting and made me feel like I was not confined to this city we're in now…"

"Where is he now?" despite himself, Zidane was grinning.

"Oh long gone. Whether with another woman, or passed with war and age, I'll never know!" She shrugged, a sort of mourning smile tugging on her lips now. "But that's why I _live_ to help the young! I strive for them to partake in such a better life. Perhaps their loved ones won't be so fleeting if I can give them the right advice."

"You sound like you do well," He praised, though he wasn't sure why he had.

"Exceptionally," she winked, and he had to laugh. There was nothing arrogant about her simple answer, and he figured that's why he found it so enlightening.

Her gaze swept over the city and she sighed, rising from her perch. "I suppose I should be going…" She shot him a sideways glance, "You should too! Though the dark is just as beautiful as the light, I think some might miss your company…" She winked, indicating it was unknowingly Dagger she was talking about.

Her words caused him to rise, and he was grinning despite his situation. He stared over the city once more, not realizing how long he'd spent talking to this mysterious woman. The sun was hanging low on the horizon now, a few buildings creating a huge contrast, already absorbed in front of the light.

His thoughts floated from one thing or another, but he found, in this majestic sort of view, he couldn't hold onto one thought for very long. When he turned around, what he thought was seconds later, he found the woman was long gone.

Before he knew to stop himself, his eyes slid to the large but lower balcony she had told him about earlier. He saw pinpricks of figures moving across it, close to the white railing that served as protection from everything below… but he wasn't sure if one of them was her or not.

Feeling as though his decision was made when actually he had gotten nowhere, he swung down below the bell, and started his trek down the rickety old staircase that had brought him so high in the first place.

* * *

"Sally said she'd talk to the others," Steiner said finally when he emerged from the building. He had lingered inside, wanting to ask her a few more questions.

Baku nodded, though didn't say anything. The knight decided that the pilot had a lot in his thoughts – being back in his own city. He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, before turning around. He was in his armored pants and a large shirt, his helmet shucked, due to suspicions. Baku looked much the same – lucky that everybody around here wore leather and cloth like Tantalus did.

"Where's Fratley?" Steiner asked suddenly, turning around. The Bermecian was prone to vanish, but he didn't think he'd be gone directly after talking to Sally.

"He wandered away. I don't blame him," Baku chuckled, "I've done the same damn thing a few times, but reminded myself to come back because you were still chattin' that woman up."

Steiner's eyebrows furrowed and his eyes narrowed, "I wasn't –"

Baku burst into a hearty laugh and slapped Steiner on the back, "I was giving you shit, Steiner… There's no reason to get your panties in a bunch!"

His face reddened – whether from embarrassment or anger, Baku didn't know, "My –"

"Don't even say what you're going to say," the man warned him, a chortle still in his voice. He began to move, not to be bothered if Steiner chose not to follow.

"Where are you going?" He demanded instead.

Baku shrugged, "We're done with our work today… The only way we'll know if there are people in Lindblum who want to help us, is if Sally gets back to us," He grinned, "I don't know about you, but I'm going to get a drink. Lindblum has the best ale –"

Steiner debated before following the Tantalus leader. He easily fell in step next to him, thinking that maybe Baku was right, and maybe he could take a break for a bit.

Fratley was nowhere near that train of thought. All he could think about was Freya, and the fact that she had advanced on ahead to Qu's Marsh, waiting for their business to be over in the city. These precious times they actually had _together_ and each had thought it for the better if they split up. It had been a last minute decision, but she insisted Fratley stay with the main team. He could do more things here with persuasion, than he could in the marsh.

And yet, his thoughts still wrapped around her, and a time that seemed very long ago that he had been in Cleyra, searching for a ring. He'd known since he was young – since before the war had started – that he wanted to be with Freya forever. But back then they were too young, back then he wasn't sure if she was ready to be committed in her mind, even though those are the words she spoke. And then the war started, and neither thought it appropriate to share such times of happiness when there were royals to protect, and lives to save.

Now, in another city – one that he knew wouldn't get torn to pieces before he could get a ring, he searched, eyes wondering to the signs hanging idly above shops, hoping to spot some sort of jewelry store. Women still splurged on jewelry in times of war, right? Somebody had to…

"Fratley!" He jumped and spun on his heel when he saw Zidane standing behind him, his head tilted to the side. "What are you doing wandering around?"

"I could say the same to you," he chuckled, waiting for the blonde to catch up to him.

"I've just been using the day to think and settle in…" He shrugged, "It's weird being back here."

Fratley nodded, "It is strange being out in the open…"

They stood in silence for a moment, Fratley glanced at Zidane's dagger. Unbeknownst to the genome, Fratley had, countless times before, scoped out his dagger, staring at the glinting red ruby in the middle of it.

"Say, I have a question for you, Zidane…" Fratley mumbled, speaking before he really knew what he was saying.

"Shoot," the blonde encouraged, a grin on his face. It's like he just _knew_ what Fratley was going to say.

"Where did the ruby come from on your dagger?"

He glanced down at it, eyes locking in on the shining jewel. Zidane's eyes slid back to Fratley's, who tried to act nonchalant, but his curiosity peaked through too much.

"This?" He unsheathed it and showed it to Fratley closer, who examined it in the open now. "Freya gave it to me when we were very young…" He chuckled at the Bermecian's expression. "But you must have known that."

"I had an underlying suspicion…" He chuckled, not at all bothered that she'd given away the jewel. "But I had to be sure."

"You gave it to her," It wasn't a question – Freya had discussed it with Zidane before.

They started walking again as Fratley explained it to him, though his eyes never stopped searching for a jewelry store.

"It was my mother's ruby…" He nodded, "My family was poor. My father was a knight, but not a well known one – at least not yet… They were struggling to make something of themselves, and my father saved for a long time to buy my mother a ring. In the center was that ruby."

Zidane stared down at it, his eyebrows raising. It was so _big_, but then considering how big a Bermecian's hand, was he decided to just listen to Fratley's story, instead of analyzing it.

"He told her it was for a sense of security – that there was someone that cared about her, who was always with her through that ruby… When I grew from a child to adult, my mother passed it on to me, promising me the same sense of security. She said someday the time will come when I will pass it to another. It was very soon after I met Freya that I intended on giving her the ruby someday, and it seems, she felt that you needed a sense of security from someone as well…" He trailed, glancing at Zidane who tried to soak up all the information.

He finally nodded after a block of silence. "Yeah… I met Freya after my parents had been killed..."

Fratley smiled, "So like her…" He stopped in front of a store, and both of them glanced up at the sign, seeing the faded word _Jewelry_ across the top above the store name and logo.

"Why are we here?" Zidane questioned, following his superior inside.

There weren't many people, and all of the cases were old and rickety. The floorboards creaked, and the front counter was rotting away. Both of them peered into the first case they could get to, and saw that despite the rugged appearance of the rest of the store – the jewels they were selling were _beautiful_. Each glittered in the light every way that you moved – some different colors and sizes, but all equally as astonishing.

"Welcome!" There was a voice from behind the counter. He was a dog-like creature with pointy ears – very similar to Zenero, but his hair was graying and his clothes were worn; he was much older than that Tantalus member. "My, it's been such a long time since I've seen younger faces! How may I be of service?"

Both of them stood there before Zidane gave Fratley a little nudge. He stepped forward, a rare uncertainty in his expression.

"Hello," he said a little shyly. "I'm looking for a ring."

The creature behind the counter brought a delighted expression to his face as he danced out from behind the counter. "A ring! Like an _engagement_ ring?!"

Zidane gasped, finally hooking all the pieces together. "You're going to propose to Freya?!"

"Oh my!" he clutched at his heart, and his smile widened. "Now that is the first time in a long time in this war I've heard such words! Congratulations!"

Fratley let on a mild smile, "Thank you…"

"We'll start right away," the man nodded, determined. "First of all, what kind of stone would you like to put into it?"

Fratley bit his lip. He hadn't the slightest idea about Freya's taste in _jewelry_. In a weapon store, he could pick out a spear that she would use until it _broke_, or armor that she would treasure for protection for the next ten years until he bought her something different. He could pick out the types of food she liked, and spells that she could learn… but jewelry?

Zidane stepped forward. "Fratley, why don't you use the ruby?"

He whipped around, and both him and the shop keeper stared at him in confusion.

The genome pulled out his dagger quickly with excitement. The man jumped a little, and patted his sweating face with a handkerchief. Fratley peered closer.

"Could you take this ruby, and put it in a ring for a Bermecian?"

The dog like creature stepped forward, adjusting his glasses closer to his eyes, leaning close to get a better look. "Hmm… I suppose – maybe if I shave it down a little on the corners –" he prodded it gently, "or perhaps cut it here, and then…" he trailed a little, looking at it from all angles. "Yes! I could do that!"

"Really?!" Both said at once, staring with excited shock at the shop keeper.

He nodded, "When would you like it done by?"

"As soon as you can," Fratley said, his voice high with enthusiasm. "We might not be in town for a long time…"

"Well depending on what else you'd like on the ring, I could have it done within a week…"

"Perfect!" He cried. Then he settled down and thought for another moment. "Could I perhaps… _draw_ you what I wish for the ring to look like?"

He blinked, his eyes considerably larger when he peaked through the lenses. It was quiet for a moment, a pregnant pause passing between them. "Well I don't see why not!" Zidane and Fratley whooped for a brief moment, "But if it's too elaborate, it might not turn out exactly the same!"

"Don't worry… she likes simple… and what I have in mind is definitely something she'd like…"

"Perfect then!" He led the two over to the counter and pulled out a quill and some parchment. "Get to it then, my friend!" He laughed, rolling the supplies over to Fratley.

"Freya is going to love it…" he murmured, his mother's own engagement ring visible in his mind.

* * *

It had been a long time since she'd seen stars. They flickered in the night sky as a rare peace enveloped the city. She sighed and leaned on the bridge, taking in the gentle sound of water somewhere below her. The canal that ran through the city reminded her of the babbling stream next to Dali.

Even though the excitement of the new black mage, who decided on the name Oden, had died down, everyone was still inside, explaining exactly _what_ was going on in the world. She reckoned she'd never seen Vivi that excited in her life.

As much as she wanted to be involved, Ruby couldn't sit through the war stories. She'd been hearing them for years, and right now, all she wanted to do was reel in the fact that she was back in her _real_ home, and there wasn't a splinter of danger in her direct line of sight.

The breeze was cooler and stronger by the bridge, the openness of the canal letting air sweep through easier. She closed her eyes and felt her muscles relaxing as her ears picked up on the sounds around her.

"What are you doing out here alone?" Her keen sense of hearing never picked up on his arrival, and she jumped.

"Dear lord, Blank! Don't you be scarin' me like that!"

He gave a sheepish grin, before leaning on the stone railing next to her, "Sorry," the redhead shrugged.

There were several moments of silence before she finally answered. "It's quiet, an' relaxin'."

"I can tell…" He nodded, "It feels like home." She nodded, still not really looking at him since he'd joined her. "Oh…" He mumbled, refusing to glance in her direction as he shifted. "I got this for you today…"

Almost as if it appeared out of thin air by his side, he lifted his hand to reveal an orange rose. He shrugged, shifting his weight as she stared at him in mild shock. "I know you like the yellow ones, but they were all sort of dead…" He poked at the petals, a sort of grudging look overtaking his face. "I mean, this one is sort of wilted too, but I just thought –"

He was interrupted when Ruby's lips crashed into his, silencing him in one sweep.

They stayed like that for a long time, her arms slowly snaking around his neck, and his arms eventually securing around her waist. Two years younger than her, Ruby never imagined herself in this situation over a year ago, but slowly somehow, the redhead had grown on her, and she felt she needed to do everything she could to protect and be with him.

War was a cruel thing. It ripped people apart as she'd seen with all of her friends' real family and prior relationships… But when they still had time, the girl knew making it count was the one thing she could do.

* * *

**A/N: Well I figured everyone hadn't seen Ruby and Blank in a while, so I had to throw that list tid-bit in! That wasn't where I thought I would end the chapter, but it seemed like a nice little spot.**

**I hope you all enjoyed!**

**-zesty-**


	63. Chapter 62: Someone from the Past

**Filling In The Blankets**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 62: Someone from the Past**

Beatrix leaned back in her seat, the creak of the bar stool drowned out in the chatter and clink of mugs and dishes in the bar. Steiner sat across from her, eyeing her wearily.

"It's just so frustrating!" She groaned, rolling her eyes towards the ceiling. She let her head lull backwards as her almond eyes glazed over. It was so unprofessional that Steiner actually (and accidentally) laughed out loud.

Her head snapped back up and she glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. Steiner replied by taking a swig of his drink. "It is a big city… We just have to be patient, Beatrix," he told her, though he felt the anxiety as well.

How long could they go in this place without being recognized? How long until their presence alerted Kuja – only a few fields and a mountain range away? This was different work than recruiting at Ipsen's Castle… That place was under the protection of mist and a deep valley, and most of the people were fighters. Right away their leader had come to the resistance who had quite literally landed on their doorstep.

This was different. They were close to the enemy – within the enemy lines. Their ship wasn't close enough to make a quick get-a-way and though it was still possible, was highly unlikely. Skilled fighters and thieves had to wander among common citizens, trying to look for other rebels _amongst_ these average people…

Sally said she would help them by contacting others, but who knew how long that would take.

"Maybe we should go talk to her again –" The woman jumped from her stool, turning quickly on her heel. She was already on her way out by the time Steiner realized it and grabbed her arm.

"I know…" He muttered, frustration lingering in his own eyes, "How anxious you are… believe me, I am too… but we can't go around ruining the only chance we've got. Let her take her time."

"But it's _wasting_ ours!" She hissed, trying and failing to convince him that this was what they needed to do.

"Let's just go back to the hideout," he suggested, reaching back to the table and finishing his glass. He found with a spark of amusement that Beatrix hadn't even touched her own drink. "Maybe someone can tell us something…"

"You better be right," she grumbled angrily, telling him she'd wait for him outside. He paid the bartender and wandered out after her, where she leaned against the stone bridge offering protection from the canal, her eyes scanning everything around her.

As he moved to her side in silence, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Though it wasn't as though either of them were fully armored, they were back in their casual clothing – Beatrix finally out of that wretched dress. But with this new sense of comfort came the paranoia that someone might recognize them…

Steiner was suddenly on edge, feeling as though eyes were piercing through his clothing and flesh, hooking him, willing to drag him in closer. He put an arm protectively over Beatrix's shoulders, hoping to shield her from the fiery feeling.

"What's wrong?' She whispered. From her tense nature, he could tell that she had already felt it.

"Let's just keep moving…" He muttered back to her, flicking a glance over his shoulder. There weren't many people out, but the ones that were weren't paying any attention to them.

It was strange and unsettling, and neither of them had to tell the other to pick up the pace as they rushed back home.

* * *

"What will you have us do, M'lady?"

She pushed her blonde hair from her eyes and turned around, her gaze tearing into the man in front of her. With a flicker of hesitation in her eyes, she sighed allowing her shoulders to slump.

"Do what you can to bring them to me… Just those two… I want them as inconspicuously as possible…"

"Straight out from the street?"

"We're risking too much of a fight the closer they get to that old building… I do not know what they're here for, but I must speak with them…" a fire burned in her mind, hardening her eyes as she stared back down at the retreating duo. "Go now… Quickly."

"Yes, M'lady…" And within a moment, he vanished completely from sight.

She gripped the railing a little tighter, anxiety clutching her insides. Its cold fingers squeezed the breath from her lungs, and she leaned heavier on the stone in front of her.

She prayed this went according to plan…

* * *

"There's definitely someone watching us," Beatrix finally told him, her voice so low he almost didn't hear her.

He nodded in the faintest way he could manage, his grip around the woman's shoulders still tightening. He could feel her prickle underneath him, and knew she was feeling the uneasiness he was.

"We do not have much more to go," he whispered to her after a few moments. A few people rushed by them, but no one paid attention to the quickly moving couple, latched to each other like they were the other's life source.

They rounded the corner. Only two more left turns to the Tantalus building. It was only a couple of blocks, and they could see (in the way distance) Dagger and Zidane leaning against the railing talking. Instantly, this caused both of them to relax. There wasn't much they could do about the awful feeling, but with seeing some familiar faces came reassurance that nothing bad would happen.

And then from out of nowhere, hands were punching them, groping at them, and trying to stifle their shuffling movements and jerky sounds.

Steiner shoved hard against the first man that veered him back into the darkness of an alley. Beatrix reared hard against another man – more slender, but still as strong. They wrestled for a moment, before he slammed her against a wall.

She groaned, and Steiner fully turned, ready to assist her. "Beatrix!" He hissed feeling every bit the need to be quiet – much like their attackers.

She slumped backwards, wilting towards the ground. One man caught her under her armpits and heaved her back into a standing position. Then he ducked down, grabbing her by the waist and throwing her over his shoulder.

She was limp, and her hair flung forward in front of her face, her curls sprawling around her like a veil.

The former captain yanked and bucked, trying to get to her. His heart was hammering in his chest, and he continued to utter her name in hushed urgency. Eventually, one man got a hold of his head and smacked it against the wall.

He knew it wasn't enough to kill him, but could already feel his struggles weakening as he sunk to the brick ground himself, the world around him going black.

* * *

It felt like an eternity and a half before either of them finally awoke. Beatrix groaned, her swimming vision slowly stitching back together – everything in her line of sight becoming one instead of two or three.

She pushed herself up, taking in her strange surroundings. The colors were all a haze and the world swung, so she closed her eyes again. When she let her other senses take over, was when she noticed the couch.

With her eyes snapping downward, she saw her hands had sunken into a plush lounging sofa, the purple fabric caressing her sore body. Swirling designs were carved into any visible piece of the dark, glossy wood. It was a sturdy frame, yet dainty and nearly _frail_ looking – almost giving off the affect nobody should be sitting on it.

Again she tried to look around the room, having a little more success than last time. Turning her head this way and that, she spotted Steiner on another couch not far from where she was seated, his eyes still shut, his lips pressed into an irritated line.

"Steiner!" She whispered, trying to stand. But she swayed on the spot and collapsed back onto the couch, gripping it tightly so she was sure it would stay under her despite all of the spinning.

"I see you've awakened!"

The voice was feminine but booming, much like Beatrix's own voice to the rest of the resistance. She sat rigid, her attention torn between this new presence and Steiner's condition.

Eventually, her eyes had to move across the room to the woman who had entered. She crossed the carpeted (how long had it been since Beatrix saw _that?_) room with elegance and confidence.

"Who are you?!" The brunette snarled. She knew if she stood, she'd only look weak, so she decided to stay seated, but stay on her guard.

The blonde woman's lips twitched upward. "I'm surprised you don't recognize me."

The ex-knight shifted through every person she would know that hadn't died from the war, and drew up a blank. Who could know her that she didn't know? Perhaps… Perhaps it was one of Zidane's dreamer friends? Her eyes narrowed. That would make her with Kuja.

But… something about this woman was off. She was older, and her poofy, extravagant dress lined with shining threads and glittering beads didn't match a Dreamer description. That, and they had brought her here – which she recognized as the insides of the Lindblum palace – instead of shipping her and Steiner off to Kuja.

"No guesses, Beatrix?" She asked, her voice almost… _teasing_.

Suddenly, her eyes became soft and she walked forward, kneeling in front of the woman. Beatrix flinched back, if only slightly, until her honey eyes locked with light blue ones. Slowly, some sort of recognition blossomed in the very corners of her mind, and without even realizing it, she blurted the woman's name out into the silence of the room.

"Lady Hilda Fabool…" She gasped, unable to contain herself.

A large grin crossed the woman's features as she stood and gave a slight, royal bow, "In the flesh…"

* * *

"Dagger, meet Sally…"

"Pleased to meet you," She told the older woman pleasantly, a smile firmly on her lips. Her hands were laced together behind her back, and she stood both feminine and a little sheepish. "I apologize for not coming a bit sooner…"

They'd been in Lindblum for about a week. It had been a few days since Baku, Steiner, and Fratley had spoken with the woman, and Zidane, Dagger, and Vivi decided to take their place and come to speak to her.

The others were out in the city running missions. It seemed their presence alone was affecting people, and they were finding their own way to recruit help. If not doing that, they were helping to get supplies nobody could get anywhere else, and Ruby was helping the orphaned children with most of her time, and all of her energy.

"It's quite alright," The woman ushered them inside, taking a minute to glance around the bright square, just to make sure nobody was watching. She shut the door and turned to them, the three still standing, waiting to be invited in. "Such wonderful manners!" She praised with a grin, ushering them further into her shop.

They wound through the homey wooden hallways, creaking with protest as they padded over the floorboards. Eventually, they came to the stairs past the storage room Zidane had been trapped in, and appeared in the familiar kitchen. Immediately, Sally was grabbing four cups for tea, and gestured for them to sit at her chipped dinner table.

"I'm glad you came to hear what I have to say," she told them with a smile. "I was able to contact quite a few people around Lindblum."

"Really?" Zidane asked excitably. "Like who?!"

She frowned and shook her head. "Unfortunately, not many of the ones I know are fighters. There are a few who are bound to know more skilled warriors outside of my small circle, but many people with ordinary jobs like docking, loading, seamstresses, and even a baker would like to help in any way that they can!"

Zidane did a good job hiding the disappointment that had skittered into his gut. He was hoping for some more man power in the fight against Kuja, not people who weren't prepared to battle. But Dagger seemed to be reacting in the completely opposite way.

Her eyes were dazzling as she leaned forward and bounced as though she'd just been told she was receiving a surprise gift. "The baker – can he make many things out of small resources?"

"It's what we're known for best in Lindblum. All those with a skill from baking to docking have learned to work with basically scraps – there just isn't enough supplies sent in to keep us all well-afloat."

"He would be perfect!" She gleamed, a smile tugging hard at her lips. "And the seamstresses? They don't need a lot of supplies either?"

She chuckled, "Aside from myself, these ladies are the best that I know. They could probably make you armor too, with the help of a blacksmith – Kuja sends a lot of his army's armor here to get fixed or recreated even though there are never any actual soldiers inside the city – save for the patrol at the gate and wall, who don't do their job anyways."

Dagger glanced at her two companions, hoping for the same sort of enthusiasm. When she received only confused and forced smiles, she rolled her eyes and turned back to Sally. "The docking and loading men could be trained to fight –"

"They'd be more than willing!" She added with a wink.

"And you say there are fighters that expand further than the few that you know?"

"As long as they're still here," she shrugged, a little sheepish, "Like I said, I don't know them."

Dagger gave her one determined nod. "Right!"

The woman finally put the hot tea in front of them, and instantly, Dagger's fingers curled around the cup to keep them warm as she stared down at the rickety table, her face full of concentrated thoughts.

Zidane and Vivi greedily took their cups, cradling them as their eyes scanned the girl sitting in the middle of them. Just what was she thinking about?

"You won't make these people fight, right?"

Her question came from nowhere, but as she sat across from the trio, her hands clutching her mug so firmly, her knuckles were white, and her lips set in a hard line, they knew she was serious.

"No, we could never ask that…" Dagger answered automatically. She felt a little guilty, because it wasn't completely the truth. They would ask if people would be willing to fight, but they would _never_ make someone do it.

From the way the resistance worked at this point, however, most people who joined fought at some point or another – so those who joined from Lindblum with no intentions of participating in the war directly, would probably be pressured into it just by everyone else's actions.

"You will make a fine Queen…" Sally's comment was hardly above a mutter, but it still effectively had Zidane and Vivi wheeling around to stare wide-eyed at the girl. The latter stared, her fingers sliding limply off the glass, her chocolate eyes never leaving the grinning woman in front of her.

"Wh-what did you just say?" She asked timidly, sounding more like the quiet girl Zidane had met a year ago, back when he'd first arrived at the resistance.

"Oh, don't be so nervous!" The old woman laughed, "Just the way you hold yourself reminds me of the Regent Cid, and the royals of Alexandria…" She let out a soft chuckle, "You remind me so much of Victoria, it is hard to swallow…"

Though the two dreamers didn't know the name, Dagger definitely did; she stood so fast the chair flew back and clattered on the ground. "How did you know her?!" She demanded roughly, her eyes set hard, and her defenses up.

This didn't seem to bother Sally however. She shook her head with weak amusement. "My dear, I've been around a _long_ time…" She gave another wink, "Though I still look like quite a catch, I've done tailoring for almost every royal for the past two generations. I'm old enough to be your grandma!"

"How did you know her?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, and her eyes shined brightly, brimming with tears.

"Like I said…" She nodded slowly, grinning eyes gazing at the girl. "I tailored for her…" She clicked her tongue and pushed off the counter. "But not just any dress… I did two in Victoria's rule… One for her wedding…"

The girl almost melted on the spot.

"And one for her coronation."

"You knew my mother for that long?!" Finally, the two boys were clued in.

"Your mom?" Zidane mumbled, though the raven didn't even realize he had spoken.

"King Conry and Regent Cid were quite the feisty kids… I watched from a distance as my best friend's two sons grew into fine young men… In addition, I watched Conry and Cid fall in love with two lovely young women…"

"You were there?" She couldn't wrap her head around it. Someone who knew her parents? Her _father_?! The one in her life so dear to her heart, yet she hadn't laid eyes on him once in her life.

"My best friend, Quintessa Fabool of Lindblum, and her love, Reks Alexandros had two sons, who you know to be Cid and Conry…" She tilted her head, trying to explain it so that all three of them could understand. "One would rule Lindblum as Regent – the younger of the two… and the eldest would rule Alexandria as King... Eventually, Conry met Victoria, and wed…"

"Tell me how," she pleaded quietly, wringing her hands eagerly in front of her face, leaning forward in rising anxiety and excitement. "Tell me about Victoria…"

The woman shrugged, "Unfortunately, I cannot tell you much of the ways they met… Only Conry and his most trusted guards knew exactly where Victoria was from. But she was fiery and passionate, and despite the unknown heritage, the people fell in love with her… She was accepted with open arms, and she was a _fine_ ruler, still strong after Conry passed away…"

Dagger's heart ached with overwhelming happiness. She had found out more information on her parents in the last five minutes than she had ever been able to weasel out of Beatrix and Steiner, or even _Cid_! She suspected they didn't want her to dwell on the fact, but hearing these stories were the most amazing words ever uttered in her presence.

Sally decided to move forward from story telling. She knew Dagger knew nothing of her family, which was why she wanted to share just a little… the girl had every right to gain an incentive strong enough to keep her going – no matter what would happen in the future. "You are so like Victoria… You are sweet and kind, but passionate about your cause and your loved ones…" Her eyes slid to Zidane for a fleeting moment. The blonde missed it, but Dagger's cheeks burned crimson when she caught the flickering movement. "I knew right away that it was Princess Garnet that I was speaking to."

It was quiet for a moment, before said princess finally picked up her chair and settled back down into it, her gaze off in another world, a smile dancing upon her lips.

The others weren't quite sure what to say. They hadn't heard anything of Dagger's parents in all this time that they'd been in the resistance. Hearing just bits and pieces had Zidane itching for more – but he knew he couldn't ask her… at least not now.

That brought him back to why they were sitting in Sally's cramped kitchen anyways. He cleared his throat, noting that Dagger didn't bother giving her attention.

"When can we meet these people who wish to join us?" He asked, his voice cracking a little from being silent for so long.

Sally turned to him looking exhausted, as though she was relieved that the subject was off of Dagger's parents. Something told him that if she continued with the story, she'd also be able to relay to the girl the death of her family – something she didn't want to do. She shouldn't really have started with the blast from the past in the first place.

"I can have them come in pairs of two to your hideout throughout the day tomorrow."

Zidane nodded and glanced at Vivi, "Think we can get everyone to help us get them out?"

Vivi nodded, "I think we could probably manage."

"Good!" The woman gave one curt shake of her head. "Now go! Prepare for my people tomorrow… It'll be difficult getting all these rowdy people to settle down and listen… You'd better tell everyone to make sure they're home."

The dreamers nodded and stood, "Right!"

Sally glanced at the girl, finally coming back into focus. "I'll see you there tomorrow as well," she told all three, deliberately ignoring Dagger's probing eyes. "Goodbye! Thank you for the company! An old woman needs someone to gossip with every once in a while!" She gave a girly wave, and a hooting laugh before excusing them from the room.

They moved back down the stairs quietly, all too caught up in the bit of information about Dagger's parents that they heard. So many thoughts were running through the girl's head. She remembered that night so many years ago when her mother had swept her up from bed, slung a small pack over her shoulders, and ran with her down the stone corridors, all for just _her_ to escape.

Dagger had been back through those halls many times. Though she could no longer remember the correct route to get to the castle, sometimes on the way into the depths of the winding dungeon (when the group got that far; sometimes their trips just wouldn't work out) she'd stare at the stone, partially illuminated by torches and feel like she'd seen them before, Beatrix and Steiner flanking her mother as they ran.

Zidane and Vivi weren't sure what to do. Should they say something to her? Should they completely avoid the subject? They took a few quick glances at each other, before shrugging and following the girl as she roamed the street. Her thoughts were so deep, she didn't have any idea where she was going.

The breath of the hot sun was beating down on them, and the two dreamers tried to be patient with her silence. It was only when they turned a corner and Zidane glanced up, unable to see the bell tower that overlooked the sections of the city surrounding their hideout that he finally spoke out.

"Dagger, you doing okay?"

Her eyes seemed to come back into the focus, sharpening as she spun around to face him. "Huh?"

"We're just… getting a little far away from base, that's all," he shrugged, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "I know you probably have a lot to think about, but maybe we should head the other direction."

A light blush crept over her cheeks as she laced her fingers together, suddenly shy. "Sorry about that."

"Not a problem," He grinned, tucking his hands behind his head and moseying back in the direction they came. Vivi stared at her, his eyes almost swallowed in the brightness of the sun, before pulling down on his hat, and following the blonde.

Her feet pivoted in her boots, making a crunching sound on the sandy stone before she began to backtrack, following behind the other two. Her mind was clouded with questions that she knew Sally would refuse to answer, and her heart ached with longing.

Her parents were long passed, but she felt every day like she could walk back into the arms of her mother, like she could every day when she was small. Biting her lip, she watched Zidane and Vivi. Both of them had lost their loved ones to the war. Zidane's parents had been brutally murdered in front of him, and Vivi's grandpa – nobody knew where he was, or if he was even around anymore…

Yet both of them seemed at an almost complete ease. Should she be like them after so many years? The sadness in the loss of her father still settled over her in a haze sometimes but… she'd never met him. How could she know if she would have loved him?

_Because you know you just would have… He died protecting you – protecting everyone._

And just like that, her eyes snapped to the back of Zidane's head, gaze locking in on him and staring hard. Would she lose Zidane in the same way?

* * *

"You disappeared all those years ago…" She whispered, unable to raise her voice anymore.

The older blonde woman rose to her feet and laced her fingers together elegantly in front of her. Her eyes bore down into the younger woman's, and a sad smile overwhelmed not just her ruby lips, but all of her features.

"Indeed…" She sighed, wringing her gloved hands. "The events of how I got separated from Cid are still so hazy to me… I believe I will _never_ know exactly what happened, but I do know that the first thing I can remember doing after losing the resistance, was return to Lindblum."

"How did you survive?" She breathed, her head and eyes and mostly, her heart aching.

She sighed and glanced at Steiner, his brow creased despite his state. "Kuja hadn't taken over the city yet… He wasn't surprised to see that the royals had fled, along with many of the citizens…" Her eyebrows shot up, and her look was defiant. "What he didn't expect was such a strong Lady still leading the remaining city folk…"

"He didn't kill you?"

She sucked in a breath. "I would prefer to tell the story once Steiner has awoken…" She shrugged, almost sheepishly. Beatrix had forgotten how playful the ever-poised woman could be. "I apologize for the rough handling… I had to make it as quick and quiet as possible, and I don't believe either of you would have gone with my guards, had they told you who sent them…"

"You are correct," Beatrix's lips curled into a smile.

The woman's eyes suddenly became soft as she slipped her hands into Beatrix's and pulled her up. The brunette swayed on the spot, but the elder of the two kept her standing. She gave the woman's gloved hands a tight squeeze and shot her a tender smile. "Look how much you've grown… It has been so long."

"Too long," The brunette correct with a small smile.

"Tell me," Hilda bit her lip, unsure. "Who of the original resistance is still alive?"

Beatrix smiled, trying to remember back to the group of traveling tents and scared citizens. Hardly any skilled fighters were among them, and they had so few supplies it was startling. She rattled off a few names that really didn't seem to spike Hilda's interest. Beatrix knew the two names she was after.

"Garnet is alive."

The woman gasped, tears instantly pricking her soft orbs. "Garnet?" She whispered, lips puckering and eyebrows pulling together. "Oh my…" She gripped Beatrix's hands harder. "How old is she now? What's she like? Ohhhh!"

The brunette smiled, "Garnet, who now goes by the alias of Dagger, is sixteen. She's going to be seventeen in just a couple of weeks. She is… Oh Lady Hilda – she is phenomenal. She's poised and a wonderful leader. She's passionate about everything she does and believes in, and when she wants to be, she has more confidence than I ever thought possible to get through some of the things we've been through…" A slow smirk crossed over her features. "Plus, she's in love."

"Love?!" Squeaked the lady. "Love?! With who?!"

Beatrix frowned. "We should probably explain the whole story to you first, before I tell you that…"

She nodded excitedly, "Wait for Steiner?"

"Mhm!" The brunette nodded, and then shot her a sideways glance. "You know…"

"Yes?" Her eyes looked more hopeful than she meant to let on.

"Cid is still alive."

There were no squeals of delight or sighs of relief or cooing words to express her happiness. But Beatrix didn't need that to know her reaction. Somehow, her expression spoke tenfold what a simple gesture of sound could make. Her eyes got a little wide, and her lips contorted into a half smile, half quivering grin. Hilda's face flushed and she stood a little higher on her toes, almost leaning forward in exasperated relief.

It was as though a floodgate had opened, and it all washed out over her face. She wasn't expecting this answer.

"And he still talks about you all the time. He is convinced that you're alive."

If Beatrix through her expression before was relief, she was wrong. The woman felt choked up herself, seeing the pure expression of love and the weight of the world lifting this older woman a little lighter and prouder. It was as though the years of constant battling with Kuja and his looming shadows didn't matter, knowing that Cid was out there, always looking.

"Here I am," she said, almost lamely, in a shaking voice. "You really mean this, Beatrix?"

"Why would I lie?" She mumbled back, wrapping the woman in a hug. When Beatrix became part of the royal guard – before Kuja had seized Alexandria (and maybe even after that, before Hilda disappeared), she had gone to Hilda for absolutely everything. Every woman conversation, and every doubt about ever moving forward in life… She had wondered to her superior if she had made the right decisions, and all of her insecurities had been poured into her. They were _tremendously _close, and now, it was like that bond was rushing back with a vengeance for lost time.

"It's good to see you," She told Beatrix simply, though both knew that it was so much more than that.

Before they could continue their conversation, a groan sounded next to them as Steiner stirred on the plush couch. The brunette grinned at Hilda, looking so much younger than twenty-eight years old.

"Good!" Hilda laughed – a strong and confident sound. She strode over to the couch where Steiner's eyes fluttered open, and he was sitting up, the expression on his face mirroring Beatrix's earlier one. "Now we can get down to business!" She stuck out a hand, offering it to Steiner.

Recognition dawned on him far quicker than Beatrix, as his eyes widened, taking in her appearance.

"Yes Steiner, let's save the dramatics… We have a resistance to talk about."

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter! The whole thing with Dagger's family was completely spontaneous, but I hope it wasn't too confusing. Did Hilda coming back into the picture shock you? Or not really?**

**I hope you enjoyed! Let me know how I did!**

**Oh! I also apologize if whoever is reading is upset I didn't make Brahne Dagger's mother… That lady scares me way too much to have her be someone who mirrors Dagger so well, so I just made an OC :) Hope you don't mind too much! Also kind of bull shitted Dagger's father, but I figured since we don't hear much about him in the game, I have free range with kind of whatever I want to do! Sorry if it confuses you guys!  
**

**-zesty-**


	64. Chapter 63: Help Wanted

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 63: Help Wanted**

"Can I come with you?"

Several pairs of shocked eyes landed on the mage, staring curiously at the woman, her hand gripping the doorknob.

"I don't think that'd be such a good idea –" Blank started, his eyebrows raising and disappearing under his hair that had fallen into his face during his sleep.

It was early morning, the sun's rays poking through the rusted gears on the side of the wall. The loft, full of musty blankets and mounds of pillows, was still full of people – Zidane, Cinna, Eiko, Marcus, amongst others were still sprawled out in the sun. As for Baku's old room underneath – Fratley, Steiner, and Baku were still sleeping, while Beatrix sat in the kitchen, a cup of steaming tea gripped between her hands.

Ruby raised both of her eyebrows in surprise at the new comer. She didn't think Oden would fit in very well right away, but he had surprised everyone. He was extremely quick to learn, and his wondering questions were already more practical, asking more about world events and attacks than basic uses of daily objects.

He had just asked if he could accompany her to the T Theatre Maison to play with the children there. Immediately, Blank and Beatrix moved to shoot him down, but the thiefthought better of it. Perhaps if Oden spent time with children, he would get more of a grip of just what it was they were fighting for.

"It's alright," she drew out the word a little, very aware of her full accent, "He can come 'long."

"Seriously?" Blank turned to her in shock, and she shrugged.

"It might be good for him to get out," she suggested with a wink. Her hand slid noisily off the door handle as she turned completely to face him. "You can come if ya want!"

"Okay!" He stumbled to stand up, the same lack of grace as Vivi, before waddling over to the door, and waving goodbye. He looked ridiculous in the get up that Sally had dressed him in, but it did a good job protecting him from any probing eyes. He hardly looked like a mage wrapped in all that clothing.

"You sure you don't want to stay and help us recruit?" Blank raised a challenging eyebrow at the girl who was waiting for Oden to hurry to the door.

She stared at him with a sarcastic, and playfully irritated expression. "Ya'll have like, ten plus people here… You won't miss me much today!"

"Who says?" He smirked at her, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

She rolled her eyes, "I'm helpin' in my own way. There ain't no point in fightin' a war if there's no generation to live on after it!"

Blank raised a finger, opening his mouth to argue; Dagger cut in before he had the chance to speak. "Actually she's really right…" Her raven hair fell forward when she nodded confidently. "If I wasn't as important to the recruiting process, I would want to go with you as well."

Ruby smiled at the girl she had come to call her best friend in the past couple of years. They might have had completely different agendas and backgrounds, but considering there weren't a lot of teenage girls looming in the resistance, they made do, and were closer than most people knew. Of course, Ruby would always have her rowdy boys, and Dagger would always have her knights from the past, but their friendship was there regardless.

"When are you going to be back today?" Blank tried to ask as innocently as possible. He rocked back and forth on his chair, oblivious to the glares he was getting from Beatrix, who was currently mumbling about breaking the sparse amount of furniture they possessed.

Ruby shrugged, "It depends on what we're doin' with the kids today," She nodded and turned away, "Don't wait up for me," and before he could answer, she was out the door, Oden following faithfully behind her.

The redhead sighed, watching her go. He would never admit it to anyone, but he worried that Ruby was spending so much time out there by herself. She was doing it for a great cause, and he was happy that she found a _safe_ way to help out in the city… and yet, he didn't have contact with her most days since she'd discovered the makeshift orphanage, and he worried that something might happen, and he wouldn't know.

But Ruby was tough, and he knew not to bring it up to her, because it would probably offend her. He would try and play it off as _he only cared_, but nobody would believe him. Sometimes, his rough exterior was trusted more than the words he spoke, no matter how truthful they were.

"Don't be so worried," Dagger told him, as though reading his thoughts. "She's helping children – what problems could she possibly run into?"

He shrugged, suddenly moody, before pushing off the chair and stretching. "I'm going to try and get a little more shut eye before everybody gets here…" Without waiting for an answer, he moved towards the latter and scampered up it gracefully, swinging back and forth, reminding the girl of Zidane hanging by his tail.

She grinned as she caught sight of said blonde's arm, suddenly flung between the bars of the railing on the side of their giant bed. The raven imagined him mumbling something in his sleep, swatting at the air (which he did at the precise moment she thought it), and finally rolling over onto his stomach or side, falling into a more peaceful cycle of sleep.

"You'll be here all day, won't you, Beatrix?" She asked suddenly, tearing her thoughts away from the slumbering genome.

She nodded and took another sip of her tea, eyes scanning the room. "Yes… I will be here to assist you in any explanations, and help get everybody ready to move out to Qu's Marsh."

"They're going to be leaving so soon?"

"If they are interested enough to move into our hideout to help stand against Kuja, it won't be safe for such a cluster of people to stay here… It is better to ship them to the marsh where it's safer, before they change their mind, or we'll tell them what to do when moving day comes… It depends on the person if they want to leave now, or when we do."

"Change their minds?" She echoed, confused. Would Beatrix force them to stay once they expressed interest?

"Unfortunately, so close to Alexandria, we cannot afford to put more people at risk than we need to. If they are allowed to go back to their regular lives in Lindblum, they risk being found out… and possibly tortured for any information we gave them. Information that they _wouldn't_ have… But Kuja's army would not believe them."

Dagger shuttered at the harsh mental pictures her brunette superior gave to her. The woman spoke softly, but her words cut deep. It was an unnerving experience, she decided, after she put herself in a regular citizen's shoes… Dagger had been doing this all of her life, so no longer did it pump the same fear into her… but if she was just starting out – yes it would probably be terrifying.

The almost-seventeen year old had never actually come in contact with Kuja in all of her time as a secret Princess. Never once had he been the one to lead the soldiers into Dali to snoop. It was always some high placed general who rode back to the castle on a lopsided chocobo with his tail between his legs. Even when Alexandria had been taken over all those years ago, she had never caught glimpse of the evil everyone feared so badly.

Maybe it was a good thing. It moved her forward with less fear than someone who had seen the man before… but then again – perhaps it was a bad thing. When she finally stumbled upon him – a week from now, or maybe another year – would she be so afraid she wouldn't be able to function?

_I think I would be more afraid of the dreamers than Kuja himself._ The fact she had just thought what she had really surprised her. But the more she analyzed her thought, the more it made sense. Kuja's hand picked army with more skill packed together than he had – all rallying together to save what they thought was a slaughtered homeland. It was exactly like the resistance, just in reverse… and a lot more elite training, and not to mention, ground advantage.

"Dagger?"

"Hm?" She answered, shaking her head, and with it, scattering the thoughts like they were wisps of breath on a cold winter's morning.

The woman let on a small, patient smile. "Did you hear me?"

"No," She directed her gaze to the ground, fluttering her eyelashes in bashful embarrassment.

"I wanted to tell you when we were still alone, before all of the commotion started today."

"What is it?" The girl asked, locking her chocolate eyes with honey brown ones.

Beatrix's smile was surprising as she leaned forward in her seat. "We found Lady Hilda."

"_What?!"_ She shrieked. Somewhere in the back corners of her mind, she registered the irritated grumbles as she woke up her teammates, but at the moment, the girl didn't care.

The woman gave a curt nod. "She had Steiner and I… escorted into the palace yesterday… She told us about what she's been doing for all of these long years, and about the city… We told her you and Cid are still alive, and she would very much like to see you today, if that will be at all possible."

"Of course!" She yelped, still probably a little too loud. Marcus swore at her, but she ignored it. "Can we go now?! Before everyone gets here?!"

Beatrix bit her lip, trying to clock out the time correctly. Hopefully Steiner and Fratley would be able to handle it by themselves… Not many people would filter in before they made their way back, so she saw no harm in it. Once new recruits started coming in, Beatrix wondered just how long they would be able to stay here before things started to look suspicious enough for the black mages to report.

"If we leave now, we could probably go, yes."

The girl squealed and leapt from her chair, running a hand through her short locks. "Do I look alright? Should I wear something different?" She patted her neck, realizing her necklace was gone in a panic. "Where's the garnet from my mother? Did I lose it? Did I –"

"Dagger!" Beatrix laughed, watching the girl scramble. That was so unlike the teen. "Your necklace is right here –" she held up the stone, abandoned on the counter last night when she was bogged down with sleep, eating a late enough dinner to be called too-early of a breakfast.

"Thank you!" The girl huffed, though a bit more composed.

"You were so young when you saw Hilda last, I do not think she will judge the fact that you cut your hair; she'll understand if you wear your regular armor… It's safer that way for you as well."

Dagger nodded and laced her hands in front of her, a blush creeping over her cheeks. "Can we leave? Are you ready?"

Beatrix nodded, standing. Her hair was sticking to her neck, not being properly brushed for a long while. She moved to their light traveling packs and dug in Ruby's front pocket, fishing out a tight band to wind her hair into. She threw her hair up into a bun, pulling it away from her eyes and face. Dagger blinked, not used to the sight, but said nothing of it as they slipped out the door, on their way to the palace… trying to look inconspicuous.

Unfortunately, without her curled locks surrounding her facial features, a woman as beautiful and confident as Beatrix, clad in tight fitting pants, and a low cut breast-plate, wasn't exactly able to blend in too well. Her face was too pretty to _not_ remember, and it seemed she caught the attention of most men and a lot of jealous women who wandered the streets. Her almond eyes fell uneasily on each face, wincing when she realized any one of these people could be working for Kuja, and that their secret would be given away quicker than they could move.

But the heat swelled under the sun, festering in the huddled walkways of the city, and she couldn't continue to let stray hairs stick to her skin irritatingly and expect to get through the day working with new recruits.

The two moved quickly through the streets, dodging the busiest parts by darting through allies and weaving through vendors. They tried not to catch anyone's eye incase anyone affiliated with Kuja was watching. Dagger's back burned; she knew that the black mages had their eyes on the duo, but she tried to ignore it and act as natural as she could.

"How much longer?" She grumbled harshly to the woman in front of her.

"We just have to go in here and –" she rounded the corner and stopped so abruptly that the teenager ran into her back. "Here!" She breathed a sigh of relief she didn't know she had been holding as she rushed forward, pressing on the side of a large bell, shoving hard against it until it made a ringing sound.

It was faint, due to the large crack in the side of the metal, but it did its job. Less than a minute later, there were a couple of men who stepped in front of the alley. Dagger was in awe as they followed the two men who never looked back at them, and never missed a beat in their coordinated steps.

One was considerably young – probably just a little older than Dagger, but it was hard to tell with the armor cluttering his body. The other was a little older – more like Steiner's age, whose face was worn with scars and images he'd never be able to stop reliving.

"Are they taking us to the palace?" She asked Beatrix in a hushed tone. She didn't miss the way that Beatrix naturally fell into step with the men, and her posture was a little straighter – stronger, more rigid and alert. A grin unwillingly overtook her face before she could stop it, as her chocolate eyes continued to peer up at the woman.

The latter glanced down and answered with a curt nod, well aware of the reason Dagger was smirking at her. She really couldn't help herself. It had been _years_ since she'd been an official knight for the Kingdom of Alexandria, and yet, whenever she was around those who reminded her of her past, some strange recognition took over her body, and she found herself naturally falling into the movements as well.

As if sensing the thoughts swirling in the brunette's mind, the raven turned her head back to the front, taking in the scenery as they ascended the stairs into the transit station. "This is new…" She murmured lightly.

Beatrix knew that there was a transit Cid had created before the war, the blueprints hidden safely under lock and key in the palace, but she'd never seen them _working_. Even the short time they'd been in Lindblum, she hadn't seen the train once, and with dizzying quickness, she realized that there was so much of the city they had yet to explore.

Despite the questions lingering on the tips of their tongues, the ladies stayed quiet, following the men with ease. The eldest of the knights mumbled something to the man controlling the train, before his eyes continually watched Beatrix, and more importantly, Dagger. Some air of familiarity suddenly clutched her, and she narrowed her eyes, unsure of why he seemed so familiar.

Unfortunately, before she decided how she knew him, they clamored onto the train, and barely had time to take a hold of the railing before it shot off. Immediately, the younger girl's eyes trained on the window, trying to take in solid objects instead of the whirl of the outside world. Everything blurred together, creating a watercolor painting on a moving canvas, too quick for her to see. Eventually, her eyes turned to the inside the train again, the speed making her dizzy.

"That man," Beatrix broke the heavy silence, "who was operating the tram?" She tilted her head, eyes unconsciously narrowing, "Who was he?"

"That was Doctor Shelton Tot, the mechanics generator of –"

"_Dr. Tot?!_" Both of them gasped. Beatrix moved forward in one, swift motion and grabbed the younger guard who had nonchalantly answered them, by the breastplate. "_Are you certain?!_"

"Beatrix!" Dagger groaned, leaping up and readying a protect spell if she needed one.

The brunette's head snapped to the side at the very same instance, seeing the glinting blade pointed at her neck.

"Drop him." The older knight ordered, and immediately, her fingers flexed and he plopped back down onto the seat. "You may be two people that Lady Hilda wants alive, but I will not hesitate to kill you if you touch one of our own."

Beatrix narrowed her eyes, her nature suddenly hostile. "Do you understand who it is you're talking to? Or are you not so trusted to be told who you would be escorting to the palace today?" She obviously hit a nerve, because even his comrade didn't miss the angry flush that climbed up his neck and blotched his face.

"Beatrix please," the girl muttered behind her.

At the request of the younger girl, the woman stepped back and straightened, cracking her neck to one side as she did so. The woman might have looked a bit younger with her hair pulled away from her face, but she didn't look any less threatening.

"Taking orders from someone so young," he scoffed, sheathing his sword. "What _has_ this world come to?"

And before anyone could take in a breath to stop her, Beatrix leapt on him, slamming him against the wall of the fast-transporting train, eyes suddenly hard and deadly. "As you hide away as a _palace guard_ –" nobody missed the way she spit the words, as though the title no longer held the honor it had when the world as at peace, "- that _girl_ that you speak of, is risking her life trying to win back her kingdom's _freedom_! I will not hear such a coward speak to the heir of the Alexandrian throne in such a way _simply_ because he is too incompetent to coherently understand why it was of the utmost importance from Hilda _to get us to her safely!_"

She couldn't continue her rant further than that, because the young knight and the girl peeled Beatrix off of the man, Dagger clutching her arm, while the young blonde knight held a protective arm in front of the man, barring him passage for a counter attack.

But the older man seemed in no such condition. His eyes were wide and regret swept over his features. "The… heir to the throne?"

The nasty look shot in his direction from the chestnut haired woman answered him far more dramatically than her nimble words.

"I – I, you are –" his eyes slid to Dagger, widening with embarrassment, "- We are – Hilda – you – Oh my…" He bowed, sweeping low to the ground, "I apologize M'lady –"

She put up a hand, "I would prefer you simply call me of my life-long alias, Dagger…" She nodded, "Not many people know that an heir to Alexandria still lives… It's alright, I didn't expect you to know."

The embarrassment was never smudged off of his face, as he turned away.

"We just want to see Hilda," she encouraged as the train came to a stop, her face a stunning calm. A small smile flickered on her lips, giving all of them the control to step off the train with no further fighting.

* * *

Blank kicked a stone jutting out of the ground in irritation. The first few recruits were women – always prompt and punctual. It wasn't difficult to get them settled in and explain everything to them. They went along mostly with what everyone was telling them, but decided they wanted to wait to travel in the fields beyond Lindblum (their first and _only_ home) until there were fighting men with them.

They had also informed the group that _more_ seamstresses, and even a baker, would be presented to them soon enough. Needless to say, any arguing about war, decisions, and battle, wouldn't come until later when more young and old opinionated men decided to drop by.

The redhead could only think about Ruby, and how happy she would be to finally have more ladies in the resistance. Sure, most of them were too old to relate to, but he figured she'd be delighted anyways. That got him thinking about her constant work at the old theater, and suddenly anxiety overwhelmed him, and he had to leave the suffocating hideout.

Things had been so complicated lately, and he hadn't wanted to admit that with the growing difficulty, his thoughts landed on the older girl a little _too_ often. Ruby had always been an irritation, but more recently she had become something else completely, and he rather liked the thought of having someone by his side through this whole thing. Not that the entire resistance wasn't quite literally, on every side of him, back at their hideout, but this was something different – more personal and intimate – when he had Ruby with him. He figured _that's_ what falling in love felt like.

He froze.

Did he just say that? Blank snorted. He wasn't falling in love – that was stupid… People shouldn't fall in love with girls they'd been good friends with since _before_ puberty. He figured things with Ruby would play out this way or that, but _fall in love_?

Despite what he would admit _and_ deny, the thought scared him.

"I'm not in love with her," he mumbled to himself forcefully. Saying it out loud only solidified it, and a shutter coursed through his body. Forcefully, he shoved the thoughts from his mind, and tried to focus on something else.

Unfortunately, his head snapped up to the familiar voice of the subject of all of his thoughts. His emerald eyes instantly bore into the girl, standing outside of the theater, talking to a woman Blank didn't care about, looking a little flustered.

Narrowing his eyes, he decided to further investigate.

"I know what you're doing is important, Ruby –"

"It's my family, Darlin'…" Her voice was so reluctant and almost too quiet to hear. Blank leaned closer in anticipation. What were they talking about?

"I know, Ruby…" The older woman soothed, trying to make her proposition just a little more realistic. "But you are doing so much for these kids…" She pulled Ruby's hands into her own, giving them a loving, motherly squeeze. "You have brightened so many lives in the short time you've volunteered your scattered services to the theater…" She shook her head. "I know you always said you wanted to work with children to make a living…"

"That was before we were forced to flee… That was before I got –" her cheeks suddenly blazed red, "-attached."

"Do not feel you need to make a decision right now," She give a small, lopsided smile, "But I know myself and the others who help at the orphanage – not to mention the _children_ would love for you to stay…"

The redhead froze in his tracks. This woman was asking Ruby to stay in Lindblum? Stay even after the rest of the resistance had left? His hands balled into fists and his eyes unknowingly narrowed. Heaving himself backwards, the small of his back hit the railing protecting civilians from the water, and quickly, he snatched the stone, gripping it hard enough to keep him planted in place.

Ruby bit her lip, unsure of what to do. No way did she want to leave Tantalus – no way did she want to abandon what she'd been fighting for all these years… But then again…

She tried to think back to the last time she had done something that affected an outcome. She tried to remember when her presence had made a difference, and she could truly not remember one time.

As Adriana retreated back inside the theater, the door shut on the sound of wails from an injury during play time, and giggles and shouts of glee from the children cooped up inside wafted to where the girl stood, lingering in the doorway.

She _was_ making a difference here. Almost all the children knew her by name, and all those who could came _running_ when she walked in the door in the morning. Adriana was right – ever since the war had started, and Ruby had grown a little older, if she couldn't be an actress, then there was nothing she wanted more than to be with children, and help make their lives as amazing as she could.

Part of her wondered… Maybe she would be doing more good if she let the rest of the resistance move on ahead… She could meet them at a later date – they could communicate through moogle mail. It would be slow going, sure, but they could contact her when they needed her for the fight against Kuja. One more body to help when they needed it…

"Ruby!" She almost leapt out of her skin when she saw Blank, leaning rigidly against the railing down the slope.

"Blank?" She tilted her head, moving just a little closer, wrapping her arms around herself when she saw the unusually hard scowl pressed onto his features. A sudden chill curled around her, almost as though the temperature had dropped. "What are ya doin' here, Darlin'? Aren't ya helping with the new recruits?"

"I had to take a breather," he mumbled, tilting his head up at her. He was still shorter than her, but that didn't make him any less threatening when he was angry. But she had learned a long time ago that when it came to friends (or more specifically, friends who weren't Zidane, Cinna, Marcus, or Zenero) the redhead was all bark, and no bite. "What are _you_ doing here?"

She jerked her thumb backwards, letting out a laugh. Both of them winced when they realized it was a little too loud to be natural. "This is the old theater… Don't cha remember?"

He rubbed his forehead, an evidence crease suddenly appearing there. "Yeah, I remember Rubes…"

"Then –" She knew very well what he had heard, and she was worried about what he would say.

"Don't pretend that nothing big just happened," he shoved his hands hard into his pockets, "because it did."

"I don't even know what yer talkin' 'bout!" She crossed her arms and huffed, trying to play natural.

"You may be a pretty damn good actress Rubes, but there's no way you're fooling the rest of your crew," though he had a grin on his face, his rough tone spoke his true emotions. "Why the hell are you considering staying here?!"

"I think that's none of yer business, Blank!" She told him, matter of factly. Her accent was always sharper when she was angry.

"Bullshit it's not!" He growled, grabbing her arm and spinning her around.

Her milky eyes blinked in mild shock, but he didn't back down. He gripped both of her shoulders, shaking her a little bit.

"How could you do that?" He demanded from her, but continued without giving her time to answer, "How could you even _consider_ leaving us like that? We're your family, Ruby!"

"I know that!" She hissed at him. Though she agreed with everything he was saying, she still felt defensive… she still felt like she would do more good here.

"Then why –"

"Shut up, Blank!" She told him, shoving him away roughly. "Yer just mad because I found somethin' I'm good at doin'!"

His eyebrows shot up in disbelief, "You've got to be kidding me!" His fingers found his scalp, and yanked at the soft, red hair. "You seriously think that's what this is about?!"

"Then what is it about?!" She demanded, not understanding why he was so angry. "I'm helpin' people!"

"You're abandoning your cause!"

"I'm doing more good here, and ya'll know it!" She growled at him, clutching herself in her arms tighter before stomping her foot in frustration. "I'm doin' more than I have the entire time I've been with the resistance! Ya'll can get me when it's time to take Kuja to the barnyard –"

"_No!_" He shouted at her, shocking both of them.

"Name one good thing I've made a difference doin' that's better than helpin' these kids!" She threw her arm back, gesturing to the orphanage where curious children were peaking their heads through the window, none brave enough to go outside and see what all the commotion was about. Bystanders walked by the pair quickly, almost jogging to get around them with speed, not wanting to get caught up in the fight by pure chance.

Blank ground his teeth together in frustration, wracking his brain violently. Ruby… Remember things about Ruby… His teeth clenched harder together when he realized the only memories coming to his mind were ones not at all relevant to the situation.

His and Ruby's first kiss… The relief he felt when he saw her again after their capture – the relief he saw when he'd realized she'd made it through the Dali ambush… Him and Ruby and their late night talks about the world – her comfort when he found out Zidane was going to die. Their constant arguing that always lead to him thinking about what it would be like if there wasn't a war – they were all wonderful memories… ones that Blank would, no doubt, cherish until the day he died… But none would make her understand.

"You can't even think of _one_!" She screeched at him in frustration. "Don't you go 'round tellin' me what I can and can't do!" She leaned forward, eyes narrowing in accusation at him. "Don't –"

"You helped us knock out the guards on Kuja's ship!" He suddenly yelled in her face, defiantly glaring up at her. "You were the reason we survived on Terra!"

"Wha –" How did he remember something so trivial as her pretending to be _Scarlette_ so they could knock out those guards?

"What about the time when Cinna tripped and broke his leg, and you splinted it, even though you didn't have any idea what you were doing! Didn't the doctor say that he was lucky you were around, otherwise he might have not been able to walk right _ever again_?!" His words tripped over each other, almost too the jumbled point that she wouldn't be able to understand him.

"You don' understand!" She hissed at him weakly, trying to make him stop. Despite wanting to stay with her family, the more and more she argued with Blank simply showed her how she was fit to take care of people… She was doing better helping those children then _attempting to fight_ in a resistance. "You don' understand the way those kids look at me! You don' understand how happy they all look, like a hawk seein' prey for the first time in weeks –"

More and more memories of Ruby and Blank flooded the redhead's mind. Nothing was quite coherent enough to tell her – to make her stop trying to convince the both of them that her decision to stay was the right one. So what if it was? He needed her… He needed her next to him through this whole scary ordeal – he needed her when Zidane would go down… If Kuja won… If someone were to die – what if Lindblum was taken again and she was killed? What if he died, and she wasn't one of the things he had died protecting on the field? Was it wrong to look at it that way?

"I know all them kids by name, Blank!" She was pleading now – sounding more tired than he remembered. "I seen what war does to kids without parents! I want to be there to help!"

"We need you!" He insisted, though the thought was disorderly.

"Not as much as these kids…"

"I need you," he ground out with a little difficulty. Those words caught her attention. Her eyes flickered in the light, tears brimming as she tilted her head to the side.

"What?" She whispered at him. "That's dumb! Blank, yer lyin' to me! Don' try and guilt me just because you want –" She began to yell again, but was cut off.

"Ruby! God dammit, I love you! Okay?! Happy?!" He demanded. Her eyes popped open, and her mouth hung slack. He ran a hand nervously through his hair, jitters wracking his body.

"Just – ugh!" He strode forward, closing the distance between them swiftly, before pulling her safely into his arms, swinging her down, and kissing her, her hair sweeping the stone below them.

Her eyes fluttered shut against her will. She wanted to chastise him for using _this_ as an excuse to end the argument. Blank never wanted to talk about anything! He was infuriating and –

Did he say he loved her?

Her heart seemed to beat louder against her chest – so loud, she was sure he could hear it. She was absolutely spot on when she said Blank never wanted to talk about his feelings… He had just admitted something to her that was probably one of the hardest things for him to admit… Blank didn't just _love_ people. He cared about them, and wanted to protect them, and was one of those emotionally rough people who would be devastated if those around him were gone… But he never got verbally attached. He'd told her one time when they were a little younger, that that just made things complicated – saying your feelings out loud.

And yet here he was – telling her that he loved her. He _did_ just talk about his feelings. It might not have been some long conversation, and it might have been a little stuttered simply because he hadn't known what to say, but he… he finally admitted that he loved her.

She was suddenly pulling back, desperate to get a word in – dying to tell him those words back – to reciprocate those precious feelings. His eyes were wild and flaming with conflict when she simply grinned at him.

"Honey, I've been sweet on you for a _long_ time! Even though yer annoyin' and I want to claw yer eyes out with boot spurs –" she stopped, sucking in a breath, shaking away the crazily ramblings from the tip of her tongue. "Blank, darlin'… I love you too!" She kissed him again after that, feeling him loosen just a _little_ bit.

She knew she didn't have to tell him in words that she would do him a favor, and stay with the resistance, despite her mind telling her that it was the right thing to do. Her heart had won out.

* * *

**A/N: Bawww, a little about Ruby and Blank! Ruby is an incredibly hard character to write, and sometimes, I literally cannot stand it… But this wasn't **_**too**_** bad! A bit of writer's block, but don't worry – nothing is going to keep me from updating this!**

**Thank you for your continued, support! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Hopefully Lindblum will be over in another chapter or two – I'm really running out of things to write about in this city… On to bigger and better things in the next chapters!**

**-zesty-**


	65. Chapter 64: Consider Coming With Us

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 64: Consider Coming With Us**

Dagger wrung her hands together as her footsteps echoed down the hall. When they had gotten off the tram, the tension hadn't completely erased, but it was bearable. However, with her anxiety rising as they twisted through bright corridors that reminded her of a place she could barley remember, tensions rose with it.

Beatrix hovered over Dagger, eager to see Hilda. She worried about the girl, and the fact she cared so much about what her aunt thought.

_Aunt…_

The woman smiled. Dagger had almost no family left… To find out that her uncle's wife was still alive – someone who had watched her grow from an infant into a very small child, was still alive, was probably something _very_ big for her. Despite the irritating older guard, and the fact the younger guard's eyes never left her back, _plus_ Beatrix shadowing her every move, the ex-knight hoped that nothing could ruin this for her, and that she would be happy instead of nervous.

"So… you're the heir to Alexandria, huh?" Surprisingly, it was the boy a little older than Dagger who spoke first. Finally breaking his ever-rigid step next to his partner, he swung around, walking backwards with his hands in his pockets. His voice was light, and almost airy.

He pulled his helmet off to reveal his shaggy blonde locks and soft hazel eyes. He searched the girl who walked nervously now-in front of him, hoping for some sort of an answer.

She gave him a nod, and that encouraged him enough to continue.

"I heard rumors…" He shrugged, "Just a little bit of gossip from some of Kuja's soldiers who were at the docks for supplies when I was on duty down there… They had said something about a few missing 'dreamers' and a Princess… I didn't believe it was true," he let on a surprisingly boyish grin, "But I guess I was wrong!"

She gave a polite smile, but wasn't sure what else to say. She only vaguely noticed, with all of the attention suddenly turned on her, when they turned now, or when their feet padded on carpet instead of stone. All she could think about was how he knew where to go without standing straight forward.

"My father was from Alexandria…" He seemed to hesitate before finishing, but tried to keep the bright smile on his face.

"Really?" She asked, finally responding to him verbally. She considered him for a moment, and decided to give a little back to the conversation. "What did he do for a living?"

He let out ringing laughter – too gentle to be a knight who carried a sword for battle in times like these. "He was a farmer."

She blinked in surprise; she had expected him to say a knight, and she would have proceeded to ask about the Knights of Pluto – the only male brigade she had ever heard stories about due to Steiner's constant presence in her life.

The blonde boy seemed to sense her questions, because he elaborated quickly after. "He was part of the local militia – that's how he met my mother…" He shrugged, as though it was a simple enough story. "My _mom_ was the knight, you see…"

Beatrix raised an eyebrow, wondering if she would have known this woman.

"Was?" The younger girl squeaked out, sorrow choking off her voice.

His shoulder slumped, but only for a moment before his grey eyes met hers again. He gave her a soft, understanding smile. "My father was killed in the battle of Alexandria… Kuja took it when the army was out, defending a false attack on Lindblum… The militia was called in to help fight because over half of Alexandria's knights were away."

Beatrix's eyes grew hard and she had to turn away. She remembered the arguments about letting Lindblum fend for itself, or help Alexandria's most precious ally, putting her own city in danger. She, being the Queen's protector, didn't have a say in army matters, but remembered having to bite her lip to keep her opinions at bay anyways.

"My mother, despite being seven months pregnant, snuck off with the troops. Nobody can differentiate a pregnant woman in armor on her horse in such a brigade… With a false alarm in Lindblum, and hearing the news about Alexandria, she went into labor early…" He trailed, realizing that maybe his story wasn't fascinating anymore, and yet the three of them listened on. "She died in labor. A good friend of hers watched over me, and told me stories of my parents…"

"That's awful…" Dagger muttered, remorse curling in her stomach. "I'm sorry…"

"Yeah well…" He gave her a light, lopsided smile, "It was a long time ago… Things will get better." She winced at his words – so far, they had only gotten worse.

"We're here," the older guard cleared this throat, sounding much less angry having to interrupt his partner's terrible story, than he had been before.

The two ladies stood together, Dagger crossing her hands behind her back and flexing them to keep from fidgeting. The older royal guard pushed open the doors to a makeshift throne room, where Lady Hilda sat, not on the throne, but on a small table close to a window, the sun leaking in and casting its rays over everything it could reach. Gold glittered off of the marbled stone in the room, and the blonde woman, looking just the way that Cid had always extravagantly described her, sat upon the piece of furniture as poised and delicate as she possibly could, her face considerate, hand clutching a paint brush as her vision bore into a canvas.

"Lady Hilda," the two men bowed in front of her, the older snapping up quickly to introduce her guests. "The two you've requested –"

She dropped the brush, as though this was a complete surprise to her. Her eyes, normally elegant and always looking down on others with a sense of authority and confidence, widened uncharacteristically, and she stumbled over herself a couple of times in an attempt to reach them fast enough.

"Princess Garnet til Alexandros XVII…" She breathed out, tilting her head to the side. My… how you have _grown_ since I saw you last… Her voice was low and faint, and the girl ducked her head slightly to make sure Hilda didn't see her blush.

"Beatrix," she continued, reaching for the woman's hand. Loyally, Beatrix held it out to her, and bowed slightly.

"M'lady," she mumbled, still trying to keep her eyes on Dagger.

"It's nice to… um… meet you?" Dagger let out a floating laugh, unsure how to word exactly what it was she was saying. But Hilda understood and let out her own chiming giggle, shaking her head.

"Yes! Indeed it is! Though you're the same flesh and physical body of the two year old I met so many years ago, I could not imagine you at the time, grown up to be such a fine young lady!"

"Thank you," she nodded, then glanced around. "If you could, Lady Hilda –" she felt it more appropriate to call her by her title, instead of _aunt_. It wasn't formal enough – contrasting sharply with the way she addressed her 'Uncle Cid'. "Please call me Dagger…" She shook her head, a smile playing at her lips, "I haven't been called Garnet by many since I was four years old."

"More than a decade later…" The woman mumbled in awe. It certainly wasn't sinking in fast enough that this was the same niece she had played peek-a-boo with years and _years_ ago. "I will heed your suggestion, Dagger…" The lady grinned, pulling her close. "I'm so glad you've made it through the war to this point…"

She cringed, her thoughts unwillingly sliding back to Zidane… _lived through this point._ Not all of them would go home…

After all of the formalities and talk of growing up and the resistance, they settled on the couches, more questions than either party could imagine running through their minds. It seemed that Beatrix and Hilda had already gone over most things about the resistance and running the city the day before when they'd first met.

There was one question though… "How do you keep Kuja's soldiers out of the city?"

The two older woman glanced up in surprise. Out of everything, this is what Dagger wanted to know?

"I just mean," she began wringing her gloves together, wondering if maybe she should take back the question completely. "Dali still had patrols, and there weren't any more than two-hundred people there at any given time… even in the best of years… How does Lindblum get away with two wall guards and one guard outside the gate? Black mages of course – but their awareness is easy to elude."

"Ah! You ask a good question," Hilda nodded, signaling she understood what the younger girl was asking. She sucked in a breath. "After I came back to Lindblum all those years ago," She played with a stray thread coming off of the arm of the couch, as though unsure of the story.

The other two were almost stone still, listening intently to the story. This was something Beatrix hadn't bothered to ask the day before.

"Like I said before, Kuja was surprised to see a leader here. I bargained with him… I told him he had a free reign of rules in the city, as long as he didn't _occupy_ it. It was strange, having such a civil conversation with a man _that_ evil. He asked my demands for taking over without a fight, and I told him that I would personally make sure every citizen stayed in line, and that if there was some sort of resistance that came to my attention, I would put it out." She let on a grin, "You can only imagine the type of fury he had when his troops stormed the city and weeded Tantalus out. I simply told him I hadn't any idea what he was talking about… Kuja is an evil man – one who shows mercy on very few, but I fully believe, even to this day, he will do what is easiest for him… and the easiest thing for him to do, was keep me alive, and let me rule my people…"

"So he trusted you?"

"A ridiculous decision, really," she added with a small laugh. But a wave of her hand, as though clearing smoke from the air, brought a certain soberness back to the conversation. "He upped the black mage count in the city after that, but still didn't want a confrontation with the whole city of Lindblum… My people do well to abide by my rules… Nobody wants Kuja's _aware_ soldiers in the city, tormenting their lives… for the most part, everything is still relatively normal here. A cut in supplies to the shops, and sometimes it is hard to circulate money, but it could be much worse."

"Amazing!" Beatrix breathed. "I cannot believe you managed something like that…"

"I think," she began with a sad nod, "that if Cid would have been with me, he would not have been so compliant. That is one thing I pride myself on – the patience and influence to do what I please…"

There was silence for a moment for a few different reasons. To the older ladies' surprise, Dagger rose from the couch, and knelt in front of Hilda lovingly, sweeping the blonde's sparkling hand, covered with jewels, polish, and part of the glittering sleeve of her gown, into the raven's gloved hand.

"Won't you come with us?"

The question was so out of nowhere, that neither could say anything until the raven continued to explain.

"I can see it very clearly that you miss Uncle…" She shook her head slowly. "And I know that he really misses you too… You could come with us – surely you've had escape plans from the city –"

"I couldn't abandon my people…"

"With all due respect, Lady Hilda…" The girl gave a challenging grin – something she'd learned from rough housing with the boys. "Any people involved in the war, or thinking about any resistance will be coming _with_ us…" She gave a curt nod to silence the oncoming questions. "The ones who have no interest in choosing sides and getting themselves killed will be safe…"

"But… to abandon them?"

"Not abandoning… Moving to help more people… And I think if you were to go, more people than we ever could have imagined would follow!"

"Wouldn't the mages find it odd that the city was emptying out?" It was Beatrix who asked this question.

The young leader turned to her protector. "Do you remember when we had to escape from Conde Petie, past the guards?"

"Yes but –"

"Only a few people went at a time… It was a little slower, but it _worked_!"

"How would you propose we let them leave? Kuja's soldiers who take shifts at the gate communicate with soldiers elsewhere – they would know if the people leaving with their papers never got to where they were going…"

"How would they know where to look? Kuja already knows there's a resistance – there's no point in hiding that people are going there."

"We could be followed…" Beatrix bit her lip.

A silence enveloped the three who could only glance at each other eerily.

"Otherwise, we could sneak them out of the harbor, and loop around the shoreline…" Hilda let on a lopsided smile. Unless supplies are coming in, Kuja hardly ever watches the coast, because nobody is allowed to have ships."

Suddenly, the two resistance members were grinning ear to ear, huddling around the woman as they slowly made plans.

"I have a double who could take my place…"

"A double?!" Dagger asked, stunned.

Hilda nodded, delicacy coming back to her being after the initial excitement of moving on… finding Cid again. "We've been training her for awhile now, incase anything were to happen…" She fidgeted, as though excited to spill the next piece of information to them. "She met with Kuja the last two times."

The two girls gasped in disbelief. "He didn't know?"

"If he knew, he would have destroyed her on the spot…" Hilda shrugged her shoulders. "You should see her… She's got every mannerism, all the speaking quirks – the expressions, the walk, the clothing and the looks right down to the pale skin and liquid gold eyes _perfect_! She might as well _be _me! She will be able to lead the citizens well if her opinion were to ever be needed."

"So… you're saying you'll come with us too?" Dagger smiled, tears pricking her eyes. Would Cid finally get the reunion he never knew was coming?

Hilda sucked in a huge breath. She would have to tell her people in secret – ask who was willing to follow her… She would have to tell them the journey would be rough, and many dangers would be included… but she knew they would follow. To get their old Regent and Lady back – it would be a treat for them all. To be in the presence of such high figures – like Sir Fratley, Beatrix, Steiner, Garnet – the two escaped dreamers, magic users, first aid paramedic figures – _everyone_ would be inspired by those already in the resistance… She was almost one-hundred percent sure that no one would regret their decision to move on from the mundane town of Lindblum.

Biting her lip to contain her smile, she straightened her shoulders, making herself look taller and younger than before. "I am saying I shall go."

An excited squeal escaped Dagger, and before she even realized what she was doing, she flung her arms around Hilda's neck and hugged her tightly. Somehow, everything seemed to be falling into place… Everything seemed to be going right…

Maybe they'd have better luck than they originally thought…

* * *

Steiner blinked, tilting his head as another recruit left, their bags on their backs, to meander around the city, before heading down to the docks.

"I'm really surprised," Zidane commented, standing leisurely with his arms crossed, next to the ex-knight. "You know I really didn't think we'd have _this_ many people…"

"It is because Lady Hilda is moving on."

"She must be a really good person to have this many people willing to uproot their homes…" He watched as a family – a pregnant woman, her bright-eyed husband, and six year old boy walked out, ready to go as well.

"She is amazing," Steiner praised quietly, watching Dagger kiss the little girl's forehead, while Hilda embraced the two parents.

After just _one_ week of preparation, everything was ready. Hilda had moved quickly, and met up with Sally on a few different occasions. The first initial meeting of recruits had been good, but not _nearly_ what the two older women working as a pair herded in.

Sally had been one of the first to lead a small group down to the pier. Marcus and Baku would give them directions once they were outside the castle boundaries. Ruby stood down by the water with Cinna, prepared to help them skim the water's edge once they slipped under the docks. She'd been gone for a day now, and still there were _so_ many recruits to follow her.

Hilda would be one of the last to leave, hoping to see people off as they left. Vivi and Oden had left the night before, and Fratley had gone with a group earlier that morning. Eiko had wandered off with a particularly quiet group, hoping to get their spirits up and chatting before they met the rest of the resistance. Beatrix had gone down to the dock after a quick good-bye to Steiner and Dagger, prepared to leave with the next group that looked like they needed extra assistance. Blank had left with one of the very first groups, better at sneaking around in the daylight – when they were still nervous about sending people across the prairie with the sun beating so high in the sky.

Freya, Amarant, and Quina would be waiting for everyone as they arrived. Lysandra would assign them battle groups, and everything would slowly start to fall into place. Zidane and Steiner would be in the _very_ last group to leave – which would hopefully be soon. As much as they wanted to continue recruiting, the prolonged time there were people wandering outside the city meant more time for Kuja's spies to spot something or _someone_.

Hilda would be in the second to last group, while Dagger would be in the very last. Initially, most had been opposed to both of them going so late, but each insisted on being there to encourage every family or lone soul that had decided to help with their cause, by seeing them off personally. Steiner chewed on his lip, arms folded. Having all of his armor back on unnerved him, and he was convinced that someone would recognize him or Zidane. With the blonde in his regular garbs as well, the knight's hair stood on edge. It would be so _simple_ for a mage's eyes to lock on him, and _stay_ on him – readily ruining all of their plans and single-handedly slaughtering all of those that hadn't made it to the marsh, just because the mage would report its findings.

"We'll be fine, Rusty!" Zidane seemed to sense his strained thoughts and glanced at him with a relaxed smile and dancing eyes. It really seemed like nothing in the _world_ could dampen his spirits, and even though he had seen the genome at his worst, he did a damn good job fooling everybody else.

"I hope so," he muttered, before collapsing into a chair. "We only have a few more hours before we'll be _forced_ to leave… We don't want Dagger and Hilda out in the night…" He glanced out the windows, pointing lightly with his hand towards the sky. "There's a storm approaching, and it wouldn't be a good thing for us to be caught in it."

"I think I just heard Hilda tell Dagger there shouldn't be too many more people coming… I wonder how the market place would look right now…"

"With how many people came through today – I believe it would be deader than normal…"

His voice was rigid, and his tone was serious, but Zidane knew it was the man's attempt at a joke. So he grinned a little and let out a soft chuckle, stuffing his hands into his pockets with ease. He wasn't really worried – except for that storm Steiner had predicted. While he and the knight didn't see eye to eye on many – _many_ – things, he whole-heartedly agreed that a storm wasn't something they'd want to be stuck in. His stomach did flips just thinking about it.

"At least everything's been as smooth as it has…" He grumbled, and Steiner wondered if he was even meant to hear it. It sounded more like the young thief was trying to convince himself, rather than the knight standing next to him.

The black haired man suddenly smirked. There was that doubting interior that he had known from the start that Zidane possessed… nobody could be that optimistic _all_ the time. But soon, that grin was swiped off of his face, for he realized that these conditions were far more dire, and he should probably give the blonde a break. He was becoming strangely fond of the teen – accepting him into their small, dysfunctional family unit that made up the elite group; though he didn't enjoy him all the time, he realized the blonde had done more for him than he had initially realized.

A woman bursting through the wooden door of their hideout suddenly interrupted his mindless flow of thoughts. Her long black hair flew up from her back, and she moved before it could settle back down again. Her long robes swept the floor, and her eyes were frantic for anyone who would listen.

"Who are you?!" Steiner snarled, stepping forward with a large hand placed dangerously over his sword.

"Please…" She mumbled. "You might have heard Ruby speak of me… I am Adriana…" Her words fell out of her mouth, almost too quick to understand. "I run the makeshift orphanage at the old Tantalus Theater…" She shook her head, "That is not important. I have urgent news!"

Dagger was the first to react, basing her trust on a vague story Ruby had told her just a few days ago about one of the children there. "What is it?"

"I saw an army of mages marching into the city… From what I can gather from moving closer to the gate, soldiers are coming in as well…" She shook her head, "I fear that they might have found you out…"

Instantly, they were all stumbling over each other, words blending together as they argued what to do. Being so scattered, they didn't have any strategy on how to deal with troops – especially with Hilda and families who were simply not ready to _fight_ sitting in the hideout, waiting to move to the marshes.

"Enough!" Steiner yelled, unsheathing his sword. Everyone's eyes snapped to him – wide and frantic… scared. "Everybody must follow orders _strictly_ or prepare to die! This is your first taste of war –" A wry and somehow grave smile overtook his features as his eyes hardened, "Indulge, for this will be the easiest thing in the resistance that you conquer!"

Zidane figured it was lucky that Rusty was taking the lead. It seemed like besides Beatrix, he was the best at making strategic moves, and though Dagger was the leader of the resistance as a whole, both of them knew that she wouldn't able to deal with the pressure of having so many lives in her hands. Ruling a kingdom she could do – protecting families under a sword, _no_ white mage could do.

"I want the families to move to the docks immediately! There will be no wandering nonsense to throw mages' stares off of your back! Get down their right away, and the first person to get there, make sure you inform our resistance members of the situation!" He then turned to Hilda and Dagger. "Hilda, you must go now."

"But what about the rest of –"

"I will send anyone else your way who wishes to go after everything has died down," Adriana offered. "Across the prairies, into the marshes…" She let on a sheepish smile, "I do not know the exact location that you speak of, but those marshes are easy to get lost in… If I send people your way within the next week – please do not let them wander to their death… Find them, for they won't have anyone to guide them!"

"Fair enough," Steiner nodded. "It's important though, that we continue to leave in small groups. If Kuja's forces find our trail, it will be easier to pick people off from such a large group, and harder to hide… Do _not_ all go together!" He turned back to their Lady, "But Hilda, you must go in the first group you can… Make _sure_ Baku or Marcus go with you… Dagger, I want you in the second group!"

"But –" She couldn't help but stare worriedly at Zidane. Were they going to stay behind and fend off the soldiers? That would be way too risky… Steiner would never volunteer them for that…

"Go! There is no time to argue!" He howled at her, causing everyone to move. He turned to Zidane, the last remaining resistance member in the room. "We need to pack everything up here… Anything that might give away a detail that we were back – we must protect the remaining citizens of Lindblum as best we can."

He nodded determinedly, "Right!"

So as everyone began clearing out, they began retrashing the hideout. Furniture was kicked over and snapped, and the ashes in the fire were thrown around the area – looking much like it had when they had arrived. Zidane set to work rolling up the few remaining blankets that were on the bed, clipping them to his pack, and stuffing them anywhere he could.

Steiner rummaged Baku's room under the loft, trying to make sure nothing was left there. He swiped a few maps off of the dresser, and checked all of the drawers. He heard Zidane's pounding footsteps echo in the large, abandoned room.

Both of them met in the kitchen, where all of the food was dumped into Steiner's bag. With his armor back on, he had a lot more room, and whether it was canned, open, or half eaten, it was swiped into the satchel. A pot Ruby had splurged on and bought was shoved in there too, squishing all of the bread and Cinna's home-made pastries to the bottom of the leather hide bag.

Zidane dove to the door, watching as the last of the members shuffled down into the next district. His eyes strained, hoping to catch sight of any soldiers. There were none – but he noticed how empty the streets were. Word was moving faster than Kuja's forces. They were indeed coming.

"We have to get out of here!" Zidane yelled, though he knew that the knight would be able to hear his regular voice just fine. The adrenaline was pumping his heart faster than he would have liked, as he took out his dagger and slaughtered the legs to the table. The home they had built back up in the past couple of weeks was hard to tear back down, and a lump of sorrow and panic filled his throat. His eyes were bewildered and crazy as he searched for Steiner, who threw more soot from the fireplace around the kitchen. "There's no more time to make it perfect!" He told the older swordsman.

Steiner cringed when he saw the place. In no way did it look abandoned – just messy, and hastily overdone – like they had tried _too hard_ to make it look like a dump. He prayed that the rest of the citizens who had decided to stay in the city would be safe, and that Kuja's anger didn't get anyone _not_ involved, in trouble.

They heaved everything into their arms, wheeling around the corner after they exited the hideout, to run into a small, plump man with a large nose and glasses.

"Who the hell are you?!" Steiner bellowed in a panic. He had no interest in wasting time with men who wanted to chat.

"You are Steiner!" He said immediately, adjusting his jostled glasses. They could hear the angry shouts of the soldiers – only a few blocks down. Blood pounded in Zidane's ears, making him dizzy. He hadn't felt quite an adrenaline rush since _before_ Terra… He had been prepared to die there – never thought he'd make it back… He had planned since the beginning to make it to Treno and Dali – Lindblum was not the place he wanted to be murdered.

"What of it?!" He demanded, unable to keep up the chatty charade for the sake of time.

"I am Dr. Tot!"

"Dr. Tot… Why does that sound – Dagger's old teacher?!" Steiner asked, eyebrows shooting up.

"I know I am late, but please – take me with you –"

"You're in!" Zidane said immediately, peering around his pile of things. "Let's get going! They're going to be on our tails if we wait any longer!"

Without anymore words, the plump man picked up his satchel he had lost on the ground when he rammed into the duo, and they all made a hasty retreat down to the docks.

Zidane could basically _feel_ Kuja's forces breathing down his neck, and when he heard a female yell, his breakfast swam in his stomach. He got this haunting feeling that Elouise was among them – furious and ready to kill for a man that had ruined their lives… He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shrug the grimy feeling off of himself, and pushed himself faster.

It didn't matter what was behind him right now – he could deal with that once he was safe… Once he was in the marshes, doing what the resistance did best: building from the shadows. Safe with his friends, safe with his family…

Safe with Dagger.

* * *

**A/N: Well, the end of that was TOTALLY impromptu, but I hope you enjoyed it! I know I did! It was easy to write, because it was so fast paced, but I hope you got the kind of panicked feeling when you read, instead of just a sped up-writing style sort of feeling.**

**Anyways! I hope you all leave me some love and comments about this chapter! Finally, out of Lindblum we go!**

**-zesty-**


	66. Chapter 65: A Hasty Retreat

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 65: A Hasty Retreat**

Dagger couldn't get the right footing as she fled down the narrow alley leading to the water. She could smell the salt in the air, and felt the breeze grow stronger and icier the further down they got. Ruby and Cinna were at the docks, staring around in a panic, unsure of what to do.

When they spotted Dagger they ran to meet the stumbling girl, Ruby gripping her arms tightly. Fear tightened in all three of their throats. "Where's Zidane and Steiner?" Cinna asked, choking on his own words.

Dagger shook her head, unsure of what to say. "They didn't leave at the same time as us… I have no idea what we're supposed to do…"

"You've got to go," Cinna told her, wearing a rare expression of seriousness. "We've got to get you and Lady Hilda out of here first." The girl peered around her two teammates to see a man lift Hilda into the water, her dress floating up around her.

The storm was almost upon them now, making the water lash around nastily. The waves would be tricky to get through to where Marcus and Baku waited to assist, and the longer they waited, the more difficult it would be.

"What about Zidane and Steiner?" She was hoping to buy some time – distract Ruby and Cina into letting her stay on solid ground as long as she could so she could at least get a glimpse of their faces before she moved. Tears threatened to spread in her eyes, but she forced the feeling back, trying to put on a brave face.

"I'll wait up for them," Cinna wasn't buying into it. He knew there was nothing his good friend and superior would want more than for Dagger to _keep moving_. "Go with Ruby."

"Cinna –" The blue haired thief tried to argue, but he put a hand up, taking on a brief leadership role.

"I don't want to hear about it," He snapped at them. "You need to move _now_!" He shoved both of them towards the docks, where the cluster of people swept them up and moved them closer to the water's edge. The man who had helped Hilda stayed to lift others into the water, and soon, he was gripping Dagger's waist to lower her.

She squirmed, trying to wriggle around to get a glimpse of the tall alley before she was plunged into the icy water, but couldn't do it fast enough. The lack of seeing the two pushed her over the edge, and though she didn't bend over and heave sobs, tears streaked her face.

"Come on, child…" A woman with sandy blonde hair gripped Dagger's hand suddenly. She remembered her – it was the pregnant woman they had said goodbye to just before Adriana had rushed in. Her voice was kind, one hand gripping Dagger's tightly, the other on her bulging belly. "They'll follow us, don't worry!"

With Ruby on her other side, they slowly started trekking under the docks, dodging the harshest waves, and slowly began scaling the natural stone to the side of them, slipping and stumbling to get around it onto the narrow patch of sandy grass where Blank and Baku were waiting.

There were shouts as people were told to hurry it up behind them, and her chest constricted. One look at Ruby said that the older girl was thinking the same thing.

Had the soldiers rounded the corner, coming into view of the ocean? Had they reached the docks?

* * *

Finally, the narrow alleyway came into view. After taking an agonizing detour due to the soldiers lining more streets than they initially realized, by some miracle, they had made it to the docks first.

But it didn't come without a price however. It was void of all people, forcing Steiner and Zidane to realize they'd taken a _lot_ more time than they'd originally planned. Angry waves rolled over the wood, causing the old docks to groan in the harsh winds.

Zidane's messy hair whipped around his face, causing him to squint his eyes – trying to get a good idea of what to do.

"This is not my forte," Steiner proceeded to admit, "Running, hiding, and sneaking are not the things that I am skilled at –"

"Leave it to me, Rusty!" The blonde was surprised at how confident his voice sounded. They rushed forward, down the slippery cobblestone, his piercing blue eyes moving quickly over the rainy, nasty scenery.

As soon as they reached the water's edge (rather – the _new_ water's edge, far higher than they'd seen it before, salty ocean lapping easily over the wooden docks) a voice rang out to them.

"Zidane!" Whipping around, they spied Cinna crouched behind a large stack of abandoned cargo, the rain pelting him no longer making him flinch. He was shivering, but his eyes were still alert and all of his limbs were mobile.

"Cinna?!" Said thief spluttered. "What the hell are you still doing here?!"

"I promised Ruby and Dagger that I'd wait up for you guys –" he grinned, "- you didn't seriously think that even if you were dead, I was going to let you get taken by Kuja's scum, did you?!" He chuckled, "I was trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you were down to five minutes before I started looking for you."

"Soldiers are flooding the city," Steiner threw in, and Cinna took in his friends' company.

"Who's he?"

"My name is Dr. Tot –"

"Good enough for me!" Cinna said, deliberately cutting him off because he knew they didn't have time for formalities. "Let's get out of here! I don't want to see what those soldiers look like!"

"Neither do I!" The others agreed. Zidane and Cinna took the lead, scampering to the water's edge, and taking one glance at each other, before diving in. They would have to swim the current in order to get around – the water level was too high to scale the stone.

"I cannot swim!" Tot suddenly exclaimed, taking a step back, "I-I never learned and I don't want –"

Steiner interrupted him cleanly, "Then you are about to find out how!" Grabbing a hold of the man's arm for safety, the ex-knight threw both of them into the water, giving the two thieves his full trust, and never for a moment, second guessing it.

Though the water was _stingingly_ cold, and the current seemed to tug them in all different directions, it was easier to navigate the lower they descended. Dr. Tot's eyes were squeezed shut, unwilling to open, but he did meekly kick and thrust around, hoping to be a help.

It had been unspoken between them to go up for air only when they _absolutely_ needed to. The closer to the surface, the more you were thrashed around, and breaking above the water meant even rougher circumstances. Cinna, knowing exactly where the others would be around the corner (if they were, by any chance, still there), traced the underwater wall with his glove, feeling the chalky rock beneath his touch.

For the most part, their thoughts were relatively focused on the swimming situation, though for a few panicked moments every once in a while, _all _of their minds would wander, and they hoped the remaining Lindblum citizens, Hilda's double, and all of the resistance members – old and new – who were caught outside during the raid on the city were okay.

Though out of the way from immediate threats, they would have to be quick. Once out of the water, it was a long haul to the marshes, and in this rain it would be even harder. The chill from the water was crushing, and each of them knew it wasn't going to get any better once they got out of the water. All of the blankets were drenched, attached hastily to Zidane and Steiner's packs, but maybe it would provide wind protection, if nothing else.

Eventually, Cinna started to angle them upwards, and ever so slowly, their heads poked out of the water, each gripping a jutting stone to keep themselves in place. Each pair of eyes strained in the looming darkness to see the ledge, if it was safe, and if there was anyone lurking there – good or bad.

It seemed though, they waited too long. A sudden rush of wind had the water in its command, and yanked them violently from the wall, only to smash them back into the rocks again. They were thrown up into the air, and though all tried to stay silent, Dr. Tot was shaking and whimpering when they finally connected with solidified stone.

"Everyone okay?" Cinna turned slowly, wincing as his tired and cold limbs protested.

Zidane gave him a shaky thumbs up, and was met with Tot's whimpering for a reply; he at least seemed relatively unhurt.

"Where's Steiner?" The tech-savvy Tantalus member suddenly panicked, looking everywhere for the knight.

"Steiner!" Zidane hissed, and soon echoes of his voice in hushed whispered were bouncing up and down the rocks.

"Here!" He called, a little lower to the water. He shifted and tried to wave at them; the only reason they saw him was because his armor was glinting in the highlights of the vanishing light. Not even the moon would be out to guide them, and if they didn't get a clear path of the marsh before they were completely blind, they would be stranded for the night – not interested in walking mindlessly into something in the dark.

"You okay, Rusty?" Zidane peered over his rock, clutching it with all his might. Water dripped annoyingly into his eyes as he strained to see the knight.

"I believe –" he cut off, grinding his teeth together as he pressed off the wall with his right side. His shoulder joint ground together unnaturally, and his eyes squeezed shut. "I believe," he started again, though fully aware he would be stating his injuries instead of saying he was alright, "I have dislocated my shoulder."

"We're coming to get you!" Cinna called, sliding down the smooth stone, trying to get some sort of a grip. Though freezing and wet, Zidane was much more nimble, and reached him first.

"We'll get you up and on the way to the marsh. Dagger will fix you when –"

His good arm clutched Zidane on the shoulder. "I need you to move it back into socket."

"What?!"

"If we leave it until then, my arm might lose some of its mobility… You must pull it _hard_ so it can readjust naturally when you let go, and then massage out the kicks."

"Steiner, this is all so sudden!" He joked, trying to keep the mood light, but Steiner hastily shook his head, knowing very well that Zidane was trying to improvise some way to get out of doing it.

"Do it, Zidane," he gave the nod and wiggled the right side of his body. Zidane clutched the man's forearm and wrist, wincing before he even tugged. "Go!" Steiner commanded, and with a hitched breath, the blonde wrenched with all his might.

The man let out a howl, sucked up in the storm, until it settled back into place. The bones popped and groaned together in such a way that the blonde felt he might be sick. A majority of the overwhelming pain was gone, but it still throbbed. Zidane was quick to move his soaked hands to the man's shoulder, trying to peel his chain mail apart so he could get a proper grip. It was a hasty massage, and Steiner knew without moving it that his shoulder would probably screw up again if he messed with it.

The blonde pulled his pack around the front and unclipped a blanket from his bag. It was soggy and the once soft fleece was mangled, feeling strange beneath his touch. But he tore an angled piece from it, letting the rest flutter away in the wind, ruined. With Cinna's help (when he finally arrived, puffing and panting) the two tied the makeshift sling around his neck, and proceeded to almost literally _carry _him off the rock.

"Good thing we're passed the water part," the hairless teen joked, the grin crinkling the thin line of his beard.

"Dr. Tot!" Zidane called up the rocks, wincing now when his voice echoed. "Come down!"

"O-okay!" The man cried out, scampering down the rocks. It took him awhile, but he was surprisingly more agile than they originally gave him credit for.

"We have to be quiet now…" Cinna grumbled, moving around the rest of the corner, unsure of what they would find.

* * *

_Some time earlier._

When over half of his body finally became concealed in the weeds, he finally let out a relaxed sigh. There was nothing more stressful than escorting the first nervous group of new rebels over an open plain. The trek was quicker than he had expected, but still painfully slow for his liking.

He recalled moving from Dali to Alexandria with Zidane, and being able to run it within the night. A grin overtook his face. Everyone would be together again soon – now that he knew they'd be able to make it.

As the weeds got taller, the prickly grass swaying in the wind, chatter picked up within the group around him. It started as faint whispers, but grew into a sort of rumble of low voices after awhile, the sense of danger dissipating from all of them.

He unconsciously extended his arms from his sides, and let his gloved fingers slide over the cattails, gripping them just enough to feel the texture of the cigar-shaped seed head at the tips. Their rustling would hopefully be enough to alert the scouts, and help them find where they needed to go.

Through the denseness of the marsh, he saw a faint white smoke in the air – completely invisible against clouds, darkness, or too much sunlight. He smirked; this was his first time in one of the Qu Marshes of the world, and he had to admit, he finally understood just why Kuja never bothered with these places.

With Fossil Rue decided as a myth a _long_ time ago (though Steiner and Fratley learned from Quina it certainly was _not_), there was no reason a man as impatient and angry as Kuja would try to bother with the Qus. Even the most patient of people in the resistance still got a little flustered whenever Quina tried to have a full-fledged conversation with them.

This was the perfect hiding spot.

All of the grass, no matter how itchy was a good change from the dying leaves and patches of grass so short you couldn't run your fingers through it. Along with the bogginess of the ground, squishing uncomfortably underneath his feet, and the sounds of frogs (a _lot_ of frogs) croaking, and crickets chirping all around him, he realized he wouldn't mind being here for a little while. It certainly wasn't going to be as easy as it had been in the city to get supplies, but here was more of the resistance's natural habitat anyways, and there weren't people to recognize them, or slow them down wherever they were going.

The sound of water caught his attention. It sounded like a stone had just plunked into a hazy pond not too far away, and suddenly, his hair was standing on end. It wasn't so much because he thought they would be captured, but because of the anxiety of just _what_ he'd find – not _who_ – lurking around them.

"Blank!" The strange accent of his name gave him realization almost instantly about who was upon them. The group behind him recoiled, unsure of who had spoken.

It was none other than Quina who had waddled quickly out of the bushes after being given the correct signal by the guard that these people were _good_.

"Quina!" Honestly, the redhead had never thought he'd be more excited to see the Qu in all his life. Before he could stop him, said teammate almost plowed him over, enveloping him in a huge bear hug.

"You make trip!" He grinned, though his tongue continue to hang limply out of his mouth. As soon as he talked again, it swung up and splattered Blank with spit. For once, he didn't even mind.

"We made it," he nodded, "and we're the first of a _lot_ of groups! You should have seen all the people Quina!" He grinned and suddenly pulled the pack from his shoulders. "We found some food we thought you might like."

"Food?!" If the Qu could have gasped, he probably would have. "You bring food?!" There was no mistaking the enthusiasm in his voice.

Blank only had to shuffle through his things for a moment before he came upon a small pouch. The Qu's pudgy hands went to open it, peering inside with his star shaped eyes. Blinking in curiosity, he jumbled it out onto his hand and gazed at it with such intensity, the redhead was sure he was frozen.

"What this?!" He demanded.

"Try it," Blank urged with a grin, "You'll like it… It's chocolate."

"Choc…o…late?" He parroted slowly, as though hearing the word for the very first time.

Lindblum had been the first place that the resistance had had access to chocolate since before the war. Only in such a populated city such as Lindblum would there be such special delights. And each resistance member decided to buy a couple of pouches (or steal in Tantalus' case) to bring to everyone else.

In one blinding swipe, his tongue had cupped around the candy and slurped it into his mouth, single-handedly frightening everyone behind the redhead. He was the only one who didn't flinch when Quina's long tongue completely crumpled into his mouth for a moment, before a satisfying _pop_ of his lips signaled he had eaten his treat.

"Mmmmm!" The Qu praised, eyes sparkling. He gave one big nod that wracked his whole body. "Choc-o-late good!" He broke down the word further, causing Blank to grin.

A rustle ahead of them had everyone's eyes on the grass, and before they could register it, Freya appeared, looking a little more excited than she normally would have. The usually calm Bermecian rushed to Blank, sweeping him up in a brief hug. Lysandra and Amarant weren't too far behind her.

"You've made it!" Her grinning tone caused him to shrug a little sheepishly. "We were beginning to worry something had happened!"

He jerked his thumb backwards, stuffing his other hand in his pocket, "There are a _lot_ of recruits… We also found someone else…"

"Who?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"The Lady Hilda is alive and preparing to come back with us…"

Freya's eyes widened, though nobody else around them had any idea what the redhead was talking about. To the Lindblum citizens who had just joined, they hadn't known a time when Hilda was _not_ around, and the two standing behind Freya hadn't any idea what the story revolving around this woman pertained to.

"I cannot believe it," she muttered, her eyes turning distant. "You are certain?"

He nodded, "Plus, you know…" He grinned, "We didn't lose anyone on our way in, either!"

Freya straightened, as though she just remembered she was no longer being professional. "I am relieved to hear this!" She told them, though she couldn't completely swipe the smirk from her mouth. "But come… we must get you settled… There is much we much brief you on, and after a meal and a little rest… these new recruits will be put right to work…" With a nod, he followed her, gesturing to the rest of his group. He was secretly glad his leadership role was over – he never liked that anyways.

His eyes continually darted around the marsh, peering at the strange moss hanging like curtains over the bare trees, flowers blooming from the spider web-like plant draped over the tall, ancient trunks. Small creatures of every kind hid from them, enveloping the path after they had left, and their noises hummed around the group like a private orchestra.

For a few days at least, Blank would be able to take his mind off of the pressure of what was coming soon… Tantalus – _Zidane_ – would be heading ever-closer to Alexandria… Back to Dali, back to _Treno_, and this unnerved the redhead like nothing else…

But for now, they were safe… And everything was okay.

* * *

Lightening flashed, illuminating the scenery around him for a brief moment, the next duo of thunder and lightening almost on top of the one that just flickered and boomed. The rain pelted him at weird angles and strange sized drops due to the moss overhead, but he hardly even flinched.

"Where _are_ they?" Blank mumbled to himself. He hadn't moved from this position in awhile, loyally waiting for the rest of the members of his team to get here. He had left them almost two days ago now, and they said that tonight would be the cut off…

He shook his head – no group had come into the weeds since the heavy rain became a full-fledged storm, and that had his stomach flopping uncomfortably over itself.

If something had happened, there was nothing any of them could do but _wait_ simply because nobody was allowed to go _back_ to Lindblum after they'd left for fear of recognition and such – on top of the dangerous storm that crackled over the open fields.

He squinted his eyes, hoping to see, but to no avail. The darkness reduced his vision to about an arm's length in front of him. Frustrated, he kicked at the grass caked with mud and water, splaying it in all directions. He grunted, bending down to wipe off his bare leg.

Somewhere around him, more look outs were stationed to report any people coming into the grass. He knew his shift had ended more than a few hours ago, and yet, he continued to stand in the same spot, dismissing his replacement and telling him to come back at the next round and see if Blank felt like leaving.

Before he could think anymore on the subject, his strained hearing picked something up on the far end of the weeds. His senses spiked, and he moved a little forward, putting a hand up to halt an assault. He was instructed before being let out on guard-duty that when he heard something to put a hand up. He was to keep his hand up, and only let it drop to his side if it was a threat. If it was more resistance members coming into the marsh, he was to put two fingers up and keep his hand raised. The redhead wasn't about to make the mistake of accidentally dropping his arm and killing his own people.

He hoped that it was Dagger more than anything else. He was worried about Zidane and Steiner, Cinna and of course Ruby, and yet, he knew that they would take care of themselves more than the raven. Everyone was worried that something had happened to her and Hilda simply because they had wanted to stay back until the bitter end.

And as soon as he saw the group of shivering, hovering bodies, Dagger's garnet necklace glinting strangely in a far away chain of lightening, two of his fingers stretched high in the air, straining as though doing that would make them more visible.

"It's Dagger!" He yelled, too impatient. Immediately, grass crunched and water spewed from many different directions, and even Blank, who had been staring so intently on the horizon towards Lindblum – just a dot in the distance – hadn't known how many sentries were lurking in the weeds.

"Blank!" Ruby's face lit up dimly in recognition and she stumbled forward into his arms. The rain might have been piercing him in all of his concentration, but she was positively _shivering_. He held her tighter, knowing that he had no body heat to give but trying regardless. "The w-water after the s-s-stor-rm hit-t wa-was t-too d-damn c-c-cold!"

"It's okay," he told her, glancing over her shoulder at the others. "Lady Hilda!"

She came forward, her hair plastered to her pale skin, her dress clinging closer to her than before. Blankets had been reattached to sacks – too loaded down with water to be of use, and so heavy and large that they were getting in the way to the point that they were no longer useful in even blocking the wind.

More and more people appeared from the dense darkness around them, clutching people's arms and shoulders, ready to leave them away. The son of the pregnant woman was curled in his father's arms; he already looked severely ill, and if they didn't get him back to their shelter soon, he would die.

Blank grasped Dagger's hand when she came forward, waiting as everyone else filed ahead of them. Ruby continued to cling to the redhead, happy that nothing had happened to him.

"B-Blank," the girl started to explain when he had turned to her, about to ask where Steiner and Zidane were. "S-soldiers… They ent-tered the city… St-st-steiner and Zid-dane stayed be-behind to make sure we were-weren't found o-out… They weren't with us…" She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to fend off a second round of tears.

Maybe…

Maybe he should have been more worried about them than Dagger. Of course they wouldn't let anything happen to Dagger… Themselves on the other hand… His breath hitched in his throat.

"They'll be here…" He grumbled, "For now, let's get you guys back…"

"Back to where?" Ruby asked, ducking closer to his arm, somehow finding his chilled body warmer than the air.

He grinned suddenly, forcing his worries to the back of his mind as he thought about the bizarre place he'd been introduced to two days ago. "Quale's place!" He would ask exactly what happened after they had warmed up.

Despite his attempts to keep the girls' mind off of their three missing teammates, all of their minds reached behind them, and each had to resist the urge to turn around and stare into the overwhelming darkness. They just had to believe the others would be alright…

* * *

**A/N: Well I didn't think I would stop there, but that's okay! :) I hope you all enjoyed that chapter! To whoever is still reading this YOU ROCKS and Thanks!**

**-zesty-**


	67. Chapter 66: The Worst is Behind Us

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.**

**Chapter 66: The Worst is Behind Us**

There was an air of uneasiness as they rounded the final corner. Despite the storm, Zidane could swear he heard screams and shouts from the city far above them, and he winced every time thunder crackled menacingly above.

Lightening tore through the air, giving them flashes of light, all four of them just a bit too late to turn and make out the outlines of the murky marsh they were headed, before the light disappeared. The most frustrating part was that the brightness was so often that their eyes never got quite adjusted to the darkness, making it infuriatingly difficult to find their wits.

Immediately, they wouldn't be able to see if someone was there waiting for them. Out of pure reflex, the blonde grabbed his dagger, unsheathing it almost silently. Cinna took this as a queue to pull his mace from behind his back, gripping it tighter than he needed to.

"Be ready for anything," Steiner whispered almost silently behind them. The genome's eyes narrowed as he crept forward.

A particularly loud snap of thunder shot overhead, causing Tot to wince in the back, squeezing his eyes shut.

Soon after came the quick flash of lightening. Zidane's eyes trained in hard, sweeping the area as quickly as he could. His hand tightened around the hilt of his dagger as the light slowly faded in front of his eyes.

He was silent for a few more seconds, knowing that if anything was hiding, it would have jumped out at them by now. Another burst of lightening confirmed his belief that nobody was there, but it did reveal something else.

There was a divot in the stone just big enough for them to squeeze in. It was low to the ground, but seemed sturdy enough. That's not what caught his attention though… Inside was a pack and a piece of parchment held down by a large rock. Before telling anybody else what was going on, he made a quick dive for cover, cowering out of the rain now that he had somewhere dry to go. The others followed swiftly after realizing that he wasn't being killed.

"Look," Zidane told them, brushing the dust off of the piece of paper. They squeezed together, trying to read what it said. They had to do it in chunks, due to the lack of lighting but it said something about how Baku and Marcus were moving ahead. It gave an exact direction of the marsh, and inside the pack were a few saved food items and warm blankets.

Cinna grinned goofily, rubbing at his head before dropping his hand to the ground. "They knew we would be stuck in the rain…"

"You have very intelligent friends these days, Steiner…" Dr. Tot praised with a partial grin, hoping that if he sucked up enough, he would be able to reap a small reward.

The knight ignored his attempts to suck up, and felt at the ceiling of their small cove. "It seems sturdy enough if we want to wait out the rain…"

Surprisingly, his eyes fell to the blonde, wondering what his next move would be. Zidane was flattered that Steiner was giving him a sort of leadership position, but it also meant he couldn't abuse it. No matter how on edge it put him being so close to Lindblum with a raid going on above them, they were in no position to move again that night. They were too cold, hungry, tired, and he didn't think that Steiner would be very up to moving with his shoulder.

"Let's at least rest up – we can wait until it's light enough out to follow Marcus' instructions." He saw the others' shoulders sag with exhaustion – and relief.

"It seems like the worst part of this mission is behind us with all the crazy monsters in Ipsen, and the raid in Lindblum…" Cinna mumbled sleepily, pulling open the pack and passing out blankets.

"Yeah…" Zidane chewed his lip as he watched the food get handed out next. There was a growing doubt in his stomach that he blamed on hunger, trying to keep his mind off of the inevitable. "Thank god…" He said, though he didn't even sound convincing to himself.

He felt Steiner's eyes on him for a long while, but he never looked in the older man's direction, too fearful of what exactly he would see in those all-knowing charcoal eyes.

* * *

Though the storm never lightened once through the night, with the morning came a little more visibility. Beatrix hadn't let her out of her sight once she'd entered the small cabin that sheltered _far_ too many people.

But, it was as though Quale hadn't noticed how many were in his house, and without even batting an eyelash, welcomed Ruby and Dagger – the last of the newcomers for the night, and set a steaming cup of stew (she still didn't know what exactly was _in_ the stew she'd eaten last night) in front of them. Cold and hungry, they didn't question it as blankets were draped on top of them.

The brunette woman would not let the three of them back out into the storm to keep lookout, though Blank had gotten into a legitimate argument with her about it. He'd stormed off, out into the little encampment he had helped set up outside. The thick moss and tall rocks made creating a shelter easy, and with everyone's help, they'd created a makeshift canopy – at least to keep out the looming rain and wind on two sides.

Finally, after a good night's rest (and maybe partially due to the fact she'd woken up _before_ Beatrix), Dagger was up and creeping outside, poking at Blank who was one of the few who'd slept under their shelter that night. Many people simply preferred being indoors through the storm.

The two of them crept out into the rain, wandering through the mist of the storm, until they reached the redhead's position the night before. Making themselves comfortable with blankets and a small breakfast, they sat and waited.

"Do you think they're okay?" Dagger whispered, loud enough for only Blank to hear.

The redhead bit his lip, wondering if he should lie or not. He had originally given Zidane and company much more credit, but with every hour passing… He wasn't so sure. _But_ there was a small chance all of them had agreed to wait out the storm… Marcus and Baku had told them about the small cove they'd left ridden with supplies – that was the hope he was banking on.

"I think that we can wait just a few more hours before we start panicking," he replied, though that didn't help quell her nerves at all – he hadn't really answered the question.

"Steiner told me that they'd be right behind us…" She stiffened, "I should have stayed and helped them –"

"It wouldn't have done any good for you to be there too… If they _did_ get captured, it was a good thing you weren't there." She flinched back at such blunt words, but knew he was only trying to tell her that it was for the better she went – so that she didn't blame herself.

"And what of Zidane? You think it was a good idea he stayed back so long?" She countered, her eyes fiery.

He puckered his lips in thought for a moment, his eyes sweeping the terrain ahead of them. The gears slowed in his head as he let his _own_ opinions settle into his thoughts. "No, I don't think so. Honestly, I think Zidane should have gone shortly after me…" He shook his head, "Why he wanted to stay back so long was beyond me, but nobody was going to force him to do otherwise, and you know that."

Her shoulder slumped when she realized that Blank was absolutely right. She figured _nobody_ had wanted the genome to stay behind so long, and yet, he sat on the sidelines, pretending to be completely oblivious to everyone else's beliefs.

"I'm sorry," Blank uttered, a little begrudgingly, but far more gentle than he'd been just moments ago.

"For what?" She asked him, turning her gaze onto him and tilting her head.

He watched her face, etched in concern, and attempts to be patient. He sighed; Dagger was always trying to be patient – for everyone… As he stared at the way her hair had grown out so much since Dali, or the way her eyes still held so much power, though so much had happened to her and her makeshift family, he wondered if she'd ever _stop_ being patient.

"I know my harshness isn't something you need right now."

She let on an all-knowing smile – almost motherly as she nudged against him, "Everybody's got to let it out eventually… We'd all go insane if we didn't take it out on each other a little bit…"

"You think so?"

"Kuja's not around to take it out on, so…" She trailed, a grin replacing the thoughtful frown she'd had only moments ago. Blank laughed out loud.

"Thank you," he said then.

"For what?" She repeated, the smirk never leaving her face.

He offered a genuine smile to her, before shaking his head. "Being the one who has to remind us all of that."

Without an answer, she turned her head back towards the front, Blank mirroring her movements, as they continued to watch for their missing teammates.

* * *

"I will never understand other creatures' bitterness towards the rain…" He stared out over the tops of the trees, balanced on his perch. "It brings life and calm…"

"Perhaps we are the creatures they will never understand…" Fratley turned towards Freya, leaning against the tree trunk next to him, staring out into the open fields beyond the marsh.

They had found the highest tree, and turned in the direction of their home. Their _city_. Bermecia lay somewhere beyond the mist, nestled into the mountains on the very northern part of the continent. Even the sharp eyesight of the Bermecians couldn't see it, but they knew it was still there – no matter how abandoned it was.

There was silence for a moment as they listened to the rain, not showing any signs of letting up anytime soon. Freya tipped her hat back, letting the drops slide off the back. Her hair was wet, and her clothes clung to her. She closed her eyes for a moment, thinking.

"Do you think they're still out there? Everybody?" She whispered harshly, hoping Fratley would give her the answer she wanted.

"I have heard… rumors…" That caught her attention. Her ice-blue eyes turned towards him, wide with curiosity. "Especially in Lindblum…" He turned towards her, a smile dawning on his features. "I have heard that Cleyra is standing again…"

"What?!" She gasped, almost falling from the tree branch. "Cleyra?! But how?! Who?!"

He smiled gently at her, shrugging his shoulders. "Before I reunited with Steiner, I was in Cleyra."

"Cleyra? But I thought –"

"Hush…" He couldn't tell her he was there trying to find her a ring, so he just smiled, taking her hand in his. "I was there when it was ambushed. The only one having traveled beyond the path from Bermecia to Cleyra, I helped them retreat…" He nodded slowly, "They took refuge in Treno until the time was right to return."

"I can't believe it!" She gasped, and a grin spread over her face. "So our brothers and sisters have survived still?"

He nodded, "Indeed… It seemed they found another stone to keep their sandstorm fortress in Treno… It wasn't the exact same one, but there was some help for them in Treno, and they were able to find one that worked in the same sort of fashion."

"I cannot believe this news… There is still hope…"

"More people are fighting than you think, Freya…" He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. "We have a chance if we can all ban together…"

She glanced at him for a moment, blinking when drops of rain hit her cheeks. She let on a rare smile, and then leaned against his shoulder. Shifting his weight, he wrapped an arm protectively around her.

"I wish moments like this could stay forever…" She murmured into him, happy that they were back in each other's company again. "You and I have been split up for such a large part of our lives together…" She trailed, knowing he would understand the rest of her sentence. They'd been split up for so long, that she wished all the precious time they had together lasted longer than it did.

He turned his head, still staring out to the distance, and pecked her head, pressing down on her cardinal-colored hat.

"I love you, dear Freya."

"I love you too," she said back to him, a smile evident in her tone.

* * *

Blank visibly winced when Dagger went through her next coughing attack. The rain still wasn't letting up, and he feared the girl had been exposed for too long. She had started shaking awhile ago, and though he tried not to notice, it was really becoming difficult to stop himself from saying something.

Her coughs were becoming more violent, and her silent breaths of air sounded more like wheezing with every moment. He would sneak glances at the girl, and her eyes were glossy as she stared into the mist, looking like she was worlds away.

"Dagger," he started, biting his lip. He was afraid of what the girl would say to him – probably be angry and hit him, and he already got enough abuse from Ruby – when he suggested she go back to Quale's dwelling.

"Hmm?" She asked him quietly. Her head turned towards him, and his eyebrows knit together under his bangs when he realized how ghostly pale she was.

"Maybe you should go back… You look like hell."

She crossed her arms, suddenly appearing ten times healthier than just moments ago. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Uh… I just mean… We don't want you _dying_ of some sort of a sickness…" He reached his hand out, but let it drop before he could place it on her shoulder. "Zidane and Steiner and Cinna would want you to be safe –"

She already went back to ignoring him, arms crossed in an irritated gesture as she hunched forward and glared towards the invisible shape of Lindblum.

"Dagger, I didn't mean it like that!" He whined, puffing a frustrated blow of breath out of his nostrils as he folded his own arms over his chest in stubbornness. "Just think –"

"I see them!" She suddenly shouted, causing him to topple off of his tree stump-chair. She was up in an instance, wading through the weeds, trying to get closer without running out in the open.

She made out all three figures, and anxiety ridden excitement entered her body. "Zidane!" She shouted, hoping to get some sort of a reaction.

The mist was still blinding against the marsh, but the blonde could _never_ mistake that voice for anyone other than Dagger. His head perked up, and he swept the area with his eyes, trying to locate where it had come from. The swamp was still a ways away, but with a little bit of squinting, he could see a figure racing forward.

"Was that –" Cinna started, before he snapped his mouth shut, upon hearing Blank's voice as well.

"Be careful, dammit! Let's wait to see –"

Before the redhead could finish, Zidane was tripping over himself running. Never before in his life had he been so happy to be back in the presence of the two most important people in his life. As he raced towards the girl, she became sharper in his focus, and as soon as he was within an arm's reach, he swept the girl up into his arms, breathing in her scent and burying his face in her hair.

"Hey," she laughed, gripping him tightly. He felt colder than she did, but that didn't stop her from clinging to him, though her whole body, wrought with sick that she was trying desperately to deny she had, tried to get away from him.

"I'm glad you're safe," he told her.

"What, no hug for me?" Cinna huffed with a grin. The three others had caught up to the duo now, and Blank was only a few yards away.

Dagger's eyes fluttered open as she pulled away from Zidane, ready to make a smart remark before she saw Steiner's arm. "Steiner!" She gasped, moving towards him, "What happened?"

"It's really nothing, Dagger…" Though he winced as he tried to shift it. "I just… dislocated it."

Before he could finish his sentence, she was conjuring a spell. Her brow creased in concentration, and she grunted, irritated that it wasn't coming to her as quickly as it normally did. Everyone watched with mild curiosity and confusion, but she eventually got it.

"Who's that?" Blank questioned, seeing Tot behind Steiner for the first time. In an instant, his dagger was drawn and he had slipped into a fighting stance. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Relax! Blank!" Zidane gripped his arm and stared at him, bright sapphire eyes shining in the musky atmosphere.

"This is Dr. Shelton Tot… Does he ring a bell, Dagger?" Steiner let on a hard grin and raised an eyebrow at her.

She blinked for a moment, confused on how this had anything to do with her. But his large round eyes, made even larger by his tiny glasses, and large nose with bushy eyebrows _did_ seem familiar. "My teacher," she gasped, hands over her mouth. "Dr. Tot!"

He laughed as soon as she went in for a hug, and returned it daintily. "Ohh yes! Garnet, my dear!" His eyes sparkled, ignoring the flinch from her real name.

"Dagger," she corrected with a smile on her face, "That's what I go by now…"

"It doesn't matter dear," he rubbed her cheek for a moment, "My how you've grown…"

She took a step back, suddenly realizing their surroundings and shivering. "Let's get out of this crazy mist… There are some exciting new people we really would like for you to meet."

She turned and began to lead them, everyone following in a group behind her. Her body prickled with cold shivers, though her forehead started to get hot. She sucked in breath after breath, though each one sounded more unhealthy than the next.

"Dagger?" Steiner questioned, stepping forward protectively. "Are you al-"

She suddenly collapsed, her knees buckling underneath her, and her eyes rolling back into her head as her eyelids fluttered shut.

"Dagger!" They cried in unison, Steiner sweeping down to catch her. The girl felt light and limp in his arms, and despite the small flicker of pain left in his shoulder, he heaved her up bridal style and cradled her in his arms. "What's wrong with her?!" He demanded.

"She's sounded sick all day –" Blank started, worry evident in his tone, "But she refused to go in –"

"Let's go!" Zidane cut in, jerking his head forward. Blank ran forth, leading them quickly through the boggy maze, hoping that whatever was going on with Dagger would pass…

Hoping that she would be okay.

* * *

Zidane brushed her bangs out of her eyes. He watched her chest rise and fall slowly, and that made him calm down a little every time he saw it. At least, no matter what was going on, she was still breathing.

They were in the middle of Quan's Dwelling – the makeshift slanted roof bright with the fire Quale made for them. Quina was helping him cook some soup, and most of the newer recruits moved outdoors to give them some room.

Beatrix was leaned up against the wall, looking stressed out, and hiding it terribly. Steiner hadn't been seen since Sally had deemed Dagger ill, and all of Tantalus was sitting in a corner in a rare silence. Vivi was sitting silently next to Zidane, currently distracted with Odin wandering outside. Freya also sat close by, Fratley hovering protectively behind her. Everyone seemed to be focused on Dagger at that moment.

Through all of the exhaustion and weight put on her shoulders since they had moved from Dali to the outside of Conde Petie, she hadn't broken down once. Cried a few times maybe, gotten angry, but never had she stopped and just _relaxed_ a little bit. She was constantly worrying and tiring herself out. Sally decided that it was probably that mixed with the chill of the rain that had her sick, and that she would probably be fine in a few days.

The rain – thankfully – was starting to let up, and that gave Lysandra more room to teach battle techniques… something Steiner and Beatrix were supposed to be helping with. Neither could muster up the strength to put Dagger's condition aside.

"Zidane…" Freya mumbled quietly, causing him to turn his head towards her. He looked tired and worried, and she figured that if Dagger would have been awake to see him, she would have been flattered by how much his care for her showed on his face.

"Yeah?"

"I recall Dagger and Vivi trying something on you when you had a fever after Terra…"

That perked almost everyone's ears in the room.

"Huh?"

Freya shifted closer, sitting cross-legged on the floor next to him. He gripped Dagger's hand, his brows knitting together with concern at the clamminess of her hand. "When you got too hot, Vivi would cast a blizzard spell on you to cool you down… when you got too cold, he would cast a fire spell on you –"

"I'm _not_ letting _anyone_ cast magic on her! It could hurt her!"

"It didn't hurt you…" She shook her head, "Beatrix and I can be here with some weak cure spells… They won't be as good as Dagger's, but they should be alright…"

He bit his lip, glancing around the room for any sort of support. Everyone averted their eyes however, because they all witnessed how it had worked so well on Zidane. His eyes became bewildered as they landed on Beatrix. "You're going to let them cast spells on her?! _Black magic_ spells?!"

She shook her head, "It might be the only way we can help her right now, Zidane…"

He spluttered for a moment, glancing back at Freya. She had already called Vivi to attention, and the blonde realized he had lost control of the situation. Biting on his lip as to not make another comment, he scooted back and wrapped his arms around his legs, mortified by what was going to happen.

"Vivi, you remember what to do, right?"

He nodded quietly, and scooted closer to Dagger. "I promise Zidane, I won't hurt her…" He flinched when he was spoken to, but didn't try to object the young mage.

Beatrix had wandered over, and both her and the Bermecian hovered, ready to cast cures when they needed. The brunette flexed her fingers. This was going to be difficult – she knew any kind of healing spells her and Freya possessed were nothing _near_ Dagger's weakest ones, and they took such a long time to recharge. One mistake would cost them here.

"Start with a blizzard spell," Freya instructed.

Vivi was careful to only conjure a small amount of magic to his hands, doing his weakest spell and casting it on the girl. Her back arched at the sudden contact, and almost sent Zidane spiraling through the roof, but he controlled himself. After the first moment of initial shock, she settled back down, sighing in unconscious relief.

"Again," Freya instructed.

"Hey –"

"_Hush_!" She sneered at Zidane, though she didn't mean it as harshly as it came out.

Vivi tried a second time, and this time she let out a teeth chatter and a moan. Beatrix was quick with a cure. The girl relaxed in just a moment.

"Fire," the Bermecian instructed, and as this process continued, everyone in the room inched closer. Quale tried to keep his eyes on the food, but even his interest was peaked.

Vivi did as instructed time and time again, while Freya and Beatrix had a good system going with cures. He was told to do another fire spell, and shot it at her maybe a little too hard in his anxiety.

She rolled with a whimper of pain, and hasty sloppiness had Freya and Beatrix casting a cure at the same time. Vivi was already summoning his next spell, and neither of the two women had a cure ready.

"Wait!" They both cried in unison, but the spell had already been cast.

Vivi covered his eyes, horrified. "I-I'm sorry! I couldn't stop it!" Dagger whimpered and flopped onto her side, her forehead breaking into a hard sweat.

But just as they thought the pain would worsen, the sparkling light of a cure spell floated over her, and everyone turned behind Beatrix to see where it came from.

She was standing a little awkward in the middle of the room, her hands slowly lowering and tucking behind her back. Her amber eyes were averted downward, and her cropped hair fell in front of her eyes. She peaked out from behind her bangs, and squeaked when she realized all eyes were on her.

"Eiko, you can…" Beatrix started with a stammer, "You can _heal?!_"

She meeped as she was suddenly bombarded with questions. "Are you a white mage?"

"Can you do more spells?"

"How powerful are they?"

"Can you _summon_?!" They were gaping at her, all waiting for answers as more questions filled the already crowded air.

She backed up, her eyes widening in terror when she realized maybe healing Dagger in front of everyone was a mistake. But if everyone else would have seen Zidane's face, and he was so upset and –

"Leave her be," a weak voice said, and everyone wheeled around to see the brunette girl trying to prop herself up on her elbows.

"Dagger!" They cried, huddling around her, forgetting Eiko for the moment as they showered the girl with a barrage of questions.

This was the little girl's queue to slip out the door going unnoticed. Dagger was doing her part in keeping the promise she made to Eiko, about not revealing that she was a white mage…

There was something in her chest – a fluttering that caused a lack of breath, but made her feel _happy,_ like she could float. Maybe… maybe she didn't want to keep it a secret anymore…

Maybe, instead of just fighting, she _wanted_ to help people.

* * *

**A/N: Well I'm glad I could fit a little part about Eiko in there! That's always a nice thing to do! I'm glad we're not in Lindblum anymore, but as much as I was looking forward to doing Qu's Marsh, I realize it's going to be just as hard as everywhere else.**

**Oh joy!**

**I hope you all liked it and keep reading!**

**-zesty-**


	68. Chapter 67: A Little Light

**Filling In The Blanks**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.**

**A/N: There is a specific scene in this chapter (all of you will know when you get there) that I fully dedicate to Jesters of the Moon (formerly known as Bobby Corwin). She is the only reason I have continued thus far on this story, and have any determination to finish it, no matter how long it might take :)  
**

**Chapter 67: A Little Light**

The _sun…_

Its rays finally cast through the woven roof of the dwelling, making speckled patterns on the wooden floor. The embers of last night's fire flickered, and the empty bowls of a delicious dinner were piled up next to the make-shift kitchen. Quale was already awake, sidestepping all of his tired companions, quick to start breakfast.

He curled his tongue into his mouth in concentration, thinking about everyone who had taken refuge with him for this duration of their stay.

A few weeks ago, Quina had come home and explained the situation to him, a Bermecian and a very large red headed man as his companions. Besides those three, a small group of other resistance members were itching to find a safe place to stay – hoping that the meeting place they'd decided on would work.

How could Quale say no?

He had laid down some ground rules, but otherwise told them as long as they could help get supplies, he would provide food and shelter for them. He also told them that he'd never seen one of Kuja's soldiers before – assuring him that evil forces didn't come near the marsh. _Too stinky, too smelly, too big _were his exact words.

He watched more and more members of their resistance – new and old – come into the marsh in the last few days… but the one who had surprised him the most…

Vivi Ornitier…

Images of Quan floated through his mind, and he painfully stepped away from his permanent spot in the kitchen to catch his breath. His eyes fell back to the golden fork he had given Quina when their paths had crossed last time, remembering how Quan had dropped it off for him when he began his travels.

"_Search for Vivi!"_

Quale had met Vivi when he was very small. Quan had been traveling through Dali to Alexandria to get cooking supplies when he had found him. He had brought the small mage back to Quale, and it was easy for the latter to see that in the short amount of time that Quan had known him, he had come to care about him. Eventually, the eldest Qu decided to make his own home – a place he could raise Vivi _right_.

No matter how many years went by, Quale would never forget the peculiar black mage that his Master had found and learned to love like family. But after Vivi was taken…

"_What happened?" Quale curled his tongue in distaste – distaste for Alexandria and the men who had taken Vivi away from Quan._

"_Vivi taken! Quan try to hide Vivi, but mean men found him!" The distress in the older Qu's eyes was evident, and he paced back and forth, wobbling with every step he took._

"_Where can Quale find him?" He murmured in a pleading voice. Vivi? _Gone_? The older Qu had grown so attached to him – even through his letters the Master Chef could see that. Anger clutched his being as heaviness sunk his heart._

_He shook his head, "Quan not know what they did… Vivi maybe dead…"_

_The two were silent for a moment, listening to the bubbling kettle over the crackling fire. The wind was soft outside, caressing the trees in a lullaby, as Quan collapsed to the ground._

_It felt like that moment was locked in time for years upon years before finally, a tearful Quan rose from his feet, shocking Quale. The master chef's master produced a giant golden spoon from his back, handing it over to his friend and student._

"_Give next apprentice…" he said quietly. "Quan not be here to teach…"_

"_But –"_

"_Quan find Vivi… Quan travel, brave like Vivi…" He nodded, a little surer of himself as he stood, turning his back on the only life he ever knew outside of the black mage._

"_Be careful," was the only thing Quale said to him before the older Qu left._

That was six years ago now, and seeing that Vivi was alive made Quale wish that he knew where his friend was. He wasn't even sure if the mage's grandfather was still alive, or if it was the right thing to do to give him any information at all.

He decided a couple of days ago that Vivi was different than other black mages. While he was sure there was something off about him when he was so young, there was a definite _intelligence_ and sense of purpose and emotion that other mages lacked, even in awareness. Odin was a great specimen, with feelings and curiosity, yet he lacked the depth that Vivi did. The older black mage, he realized, felt more like a person than even Kuja's human soldiers, so uncaring about the world and people they tore apart.

His thoughts were interrupted when the first of the resistance woke up for the day. It was none other than Beatrix – the earliest riser he'd seen yet. He gave her a small smile, his tongue wagging happily in front of his mouth. She returned his grin, and waved to him, signaling she was going out to get supplies for the day's meals.

This was the second time he had met any resistance members – the first being Steiner and Fratley all those months ago. Quale's speech might have been broken despite his long years of life, but he could read people very well… He immediately knew when Beatrix and Freya – the lovers of the two he'd previously met – came forth and entered the marsh. For the longest time, he couldn't stop staring and grinning at the two, having to hold his tongue (very literally, gripping it rather strangely with his hand) from saying something.

He heard more and more stories from the people in the resistance about their cause and just how they were going to fulfill the dream they'd been fighting for. But once he'd heard that Vivi – Quan's little, frightful Vivi - was a dreamer – even more powerful than Kuja's hand-selected army – a sense of pride swelled within him. A smile never left his lips for the rest of the day, and yesterday as the murky day turned into a muddy dusk, he met the second dreamer as well.

Zidane was quite a character, but he understood now why Quina looked up to him so much. A smile almost never left his face, unless his loved ones were in danger, and he saw a sort of protectiveness expand off of the blonde onto his teammates and friends that Quale just _knew_ nobody would ever be able to break.

He listened for stories about the pair, and even heard, when Cinna was explaining to Odin, how Vivi and Zidane had escaped the Alexandrian castle together – the older black mage jumping into say he would have never made it out of there, had it not been for the genome.

If nothing else, it was the stories of bravery and defiance that made him interested in helping wherever he could.

The more and more he thought about how much these people were doing for the world behind the scenes, the more and more he unconsciously made the decision to talk to Vivi about Quan. He knew that the little guy would be looking for his grandpa, just as everyone else was looking for someone or something they thought they might have lost. For Ruby, it was a long lost parent, Zidane – a lost friend, Steiner – a stolen family, Dagger – a stolen kingdom… Everyone had something they were looking for, and as soon as Quale's star shaped eyes landed on Vivi for the first time in over ten years, he just _knew_ that his grandpa was what the mage was looking for.

"Quale speak to Vivi when he up…" He mumbled aloud, wagging his tongue to the side with a sort of concreteness. It was official now that he had said it out loud.

Vivi squeezed his eyes shut, as though not wanting to get caught listening to the piercing darkness. He had heard Quale's broken mumble and rolled onto his side, as if the Qu had known he was listening. What in the world could he be talking about? For a moment, the mage wished he could see into the Qu's thoughts, just so he could know what in the world was going on.

Relaxing his muscles on his makeshift bed, he decided it could wait a little longer. Maybe if he was lucky, Quale would approach him on the subject… Though he might have been gaining some confidence with his teammates – there was no way he was ready to mingle with someone he had just met. Though… there was something very familiar about this particular Qu – a green hue in his skin color, verses Quina's blue-white skin. His eyes, instead of boarded with strawberry red stars, sported a lime green color, and although his English was less broken (most likely because he was older, though nobody from a third party opinion could probably tell), his tongue still hung out of his mouth comically closer to the floor than not, and he still wobbled and spit whenever he walked.

"Vivi! Vivi!" His name was called, chiming through the thin wooden walls of the hut, waking almost everyone still slumbering inside.

Odin threw open the door, his purple coat flying behind him, Beatrix on his tail. His eyes were bright with excitement, though nobody could see the rest of his face. "Vivi you have got to come now! I've found something!"

"Found something?" He parroted, slowly sitting up, forgetting about his sleeping façade.

The mage nodded his head animatedly, gripping his hat so it didn't fall off. He motioned dramatically with his arm, hopping a little up and down to get the older black mage to move faster. "Come on, Vivi! You've got to come see _now_! It might be _gone_!"

He glanced at Beatrix, trying to find some sort of a clue as to what it was. She didn't give much away, but he knew it was okay because there was the tiniest hint of a smile over her strong features.

Slowly, Vivi wobbled to his feet, and moved towards the door, noticing in the edges of his mind that Zidane, Cinna, Ruby, Marcus and Blank all crept close behind him, also curious to what was out there.

All of them filed out of Quale's dwelling, causing the remaining resistance members who woke up to grumble and flop back down on their blankets.

"Stupid curiosity…" Steiner mumbled grumpily into his pillow, rolling on top of it. He was asleep even before the door slammed shut.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Vivi laughed, following Odin who was leading their small group deeper into the marshes.

"I was out looking at the frogs, because they make funny noises –" he stopped, and Vivi imagined if he could see it, Odin would probably be blushing.

"And I found _this_!" He pulled back some weeds to reveal a large egg. It was a light turquoise color with strange, golden polka dots all over it. It was nestled into the warm ground turned muddy due to all of the rain, right next to a particularly large tree.

"What is it?" Marcus asked, peering closer to it. He adjusted the bandana covering his head, and pulled his pointed ears out from underneath it. Blank, being the shortest of the group, grumbled somewhere in the background, putting his hands on people's shoulders, trying to hop up and see.

Cinna and Zidane simply stared, unsure of what it was either. They tried twisting their heads, getting a look at it from all sorts of angles, while Odin and Vivi turned to them, awaiting an answer.

"It's an egg!" Zidane decided, probably more proud of himself than he should have.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Marcus snorted, rolling his eyes. The blonde only gave a cheeky grin in reply.

"That ain't no regular egg, Darlin'…" Ruby shook her head, bending down next to it so her skirt was scraping the mud, "That there is a chocobo egg!"

"Whooaa…" All of them seemed to breathe in awe.

"A choc-o-bo?" Odin repeated, tilting his head to the side. His eyes were set on the multi-colored egg, hard, trying to decipher what it was without really knowing.

"It's like a giant yellow chicken that you can ride!" Cinna explained.

Ruby pulled the egg closer to her, "I bet the mama's long gone!"

"Why do you say that, Rubes?" Blank asked, as she turned around, and they all hovered close to her. The egg was in her skirts as she polished it off, trying to get rid of all the rain muck caked on top of it.

"Because that there's chocobo nature!" She decided, glancing at them for only a moment. "The mamas leave 'till the babies hatch, and once they're old 'nough, they find their families again!"

"Isn't that sad? Letting them fend for themselves like that?" Vivi asked, his voice concerned.

"That's the best way to do it, I reckon," she shrugged indifferently, and sat completely in the mud. The boys sat along with her, while all the mages had to do was squat down a little before they were short enough to be level with the others.

Before anyone could do much more with it, there as a snapping sound, and everyone's eyes jerked towards the large egg in Ruby's lap. A healthy crack split horizontally in the middle of it, and eyes were widening. As delicately as she could, she placed it back in the mud and stepped back, advising everyone else to do the same.

Only curious Odin stood close to it still, observing. Another crack – and another step back.

"Odin – be careful…" Zidane mumbled to him.

Another crack and suddenly, a beak poked out of the large hole that started at the top of the spotted egg. If possible, the group's eyes got even _wider_ than before.

"Are we really witnessing what I _think_ we're witnessing?!" Cinna cried, his tone sounding slightly panicked.

"I think…" Blank chuckled, honestly not believing what he was about to see. "I think that we are!"

And as if waiting for his queue, the top of the egg popped open, and there was a small pastel yellow chocobo, barely able to open his eyes.

The first peep had absolutely all of them hooked.

"Awww," they all cooed, leaning in close.

It peeped again and hopped a little, ruffling its tiny feathers. Its head twisted around, glancing at each body, but not really seeing everyone. Its first step forward had everyone sucking in a breath and holding it in pure anticipation.

It walked a little, peeped and ruffled its feathers, then repeated the process. Nobody – not even tough exterior Marcus – wanted to take their eyes off of him.

"He is just so darn _cute_!" Ruby sighed, clasping her hands together and leaning down. "Hey there lil' fella! You sure are cute!" He cocked his head to the side.

"Fella? How do you know it's a boy?" Odin asked, settling his gaze on the girl for just a moment. He was unable to keep his eyes away from the baby chick any longer than that.

They backed up to give him some space, and found that he hopped around a little bit, pecking at the ground every so often, seeming completely content, despite the mud that his little clawed feet were sinking into.

"He looks like one!" She insisted with a nod of her head.

"I kind of see it!" Cinna declared with a grin, though there was no way to support her theory. But they went with it anyways.

"If it's a boy, what should we name it?" Everyone glanced at Vivi like he was insane. The black mage cowered into himself before giving a small shrug. "Every creature should have a name to tell it apart by, right?"

"He's right," Zidane added with a sheepish grin, "We just experienced this thing be _born_ – kind of – and so we should be able to tell him apart from every other chocobo we meet."

"How about the fact that he is a tiny little fucker?!" Marcus laughed. It sounded harsh, but he had actually sounded sincere, and they all knew he meant it in the nicest way possible.

"I like Bobby Corwen," Odin suddenly decided with a thoughtful voice.

"Bobby… Corwen?"

"Bobby?" Blank snorted, shaking his head. "Where'd you come up with that?"

"It's simple," the younger black mage shrugged. He wasn't really accustomed to the hardships of life yet – and probably wouldn't be until he got into some real action of the war… So far, Lindblum and Qu's marsh - where he'd seen a beautiful baby chocobo be born - weren't really the places to learn how difficult their path was. "And Bobby's existence should be simple and happy!"

"I actually… kind of like it," Cinna gave a guilty grin and a shrug, glancing around. "Huh? Huh? I _know_ at least _one_ of you have to like it!" He laughed when he realized _everyone_ gave a slight nod of the head.

"Bobby Corwen, huh?" Ruby smiled, holding out her gloved hands on the ground. He tilted his head to the side and poked around a little more, before snuggling into the heat of her hands and taking a seat. His tiny, barely-open eyes stared at her, chirping happily.

"I think he likes us!" The bigger thief decided.

"Us? He likes _Ruby_!" The redhead said, wrapping an arm around the girl. "Which means of course he'll like me-oof!" The southern Tantalus girl had elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to stumble back and massage his sore spot. "Oww…"

"What are we gon' do with him?" Ruby asked, eyes falling back to Zidane.

The blonde scratched his head, "Well… We could bring him with us! Quale could make him some food, and we could help him a little while we're here."

It was decided then, that Bobby Corwen would go with them so they could show the others what they had found.

* * *

Dagger winced as she tried to sit up. She knew she'd been asleep for a _long_ time, and the girl was starting to feel anxious. She swept her raven hair up into a bun with one of Ruby's leather hair ties, and tried to relax her aching muscles.

"Hey…"

She turned her head to see Steiner standing in the doorway, looking uncomfortable. The days following the rain were becoming humid, and for someone as heavily armored as Steiner, it probably would have been a health hazard to keep all of his armor _on_. He was wearing a tunic, stained grey from the constant dust and dirt they were hiding in. His helmet was off, revealing his messy black hair, while he kept his armored pants and boots on.

As she craned her neck painfully to the side, she smiled lightly at him. He always looked so much younger without all of his armor on, and she always found it slightly funny.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, stepping into the room. As soon as everyone had woken up, they had cleared out of Quale's dwelling – save for the Qu himself – so that the raven could have her time to sleep.

"Sore," she told him, igniting a light cough. "Can being out in the rain really do this to someone?"

"I believe you are less sick than you are physically and mentally exhausted…"

She shrugged lightly, cringing slightly at the movement. "You could be right."

He let on a soft smile and sat next to her on the floor, "Trudging all night through the rain, and ocean probably wasn't a very good thing either…" She chuckled and shook her head.

"How's training going?" She asked, adjusting and leaning back on the wall.

He nodded a few times, seemingly lost in thought, before he spoke. "It's going well for the most part… Lysandra is still doing battle brigades, while Beatrix and I are helping start everyone else off with the basics."

She giggled, "It seems like that's all you do."

He glared at her, "I think I'm a little more important than that, Dagger," He said sternly, though a joking tone was evident in his voice.

She rolled her eyes a little _too_ innocently, and let out another laugh. "I know you are, and thank you for being there whenever we need you."

"You know I always have, and I always will be, Dagger."

She sighed, glancing around the room. The light was still leaking through the roof, just as it had this morning, and the aroma of an early breakfast still lingered in the air. "Do you think that we have a chance at beating Kuja?"

Steiner sighed and looked away. While his own opinions about this whole battle were blurred, he didn't like to share them with anyone else. While he had never been the most optimistic person about their predicament, he still fought… meaning he still thought they had a chance… right?

Instead of answering her directly, he placed a delicate hand on her shoulder, "I think there's no reason we need to be thinking like that right now… The time will not come for awhile before we are ready to face Kuja head on, as a team… And you should focus on getting some rest and recuperating before you think about it either."

She let on a half smile, knowing that Steiner was just trying to get her mind off of things. She couldn't understand why no one ever wanted to give her a straight answer, but respected the fact that in her current condition, hearing that they didn't have a chance probably wouldn't have been the best thing.

"You're right," she decided.

"Are you hungry?" He asked after a few moments of silence.

She puckered her lips, trying to decide, before her stomach did for her, letting out a hungry growl. Steiner gave a hearty laugh and picked himself up off the floor.

"We saved you some breakfast from earlier…" He made a face, "You haven't eaten much since we've gotten here, so excuse the strange taste."

"It's food, isn't it?" She told him with a grateful smile.

"Indeed," He smirked at her and then turned, preparing to heat up her food.

Dagger leaned up against the wall and closed her eyes for a moment. She let her thoughts swirl with the warm rays touching her porcelain skin, and the people who were taking care of her out of concern and love.

She was back asleep by the time Steiner brought back the food.

He let out a breathless chuckle, and slowly moved her back so she was laying on the floor. He brushed the hair from her eyes, "Sleep well, Dagger."

* * *

"_Begin_!" Lysandra shouted, stomping her foot on the ground as her two contestants darted forward, weapons drawn.

Zidane's eyes glittered, a smirk on his face as he shot forward, dagger clutched tightly in his hand, the hilt pointing forward. He was running low to the ground, his hair whipping back from his face, revealing his determined features.

He was up against an elf they had picked from Ipsen's castle who had been deemed in Lysandra's top five most elite fighters, and naturally, would be forced to go up against Zidane.

"The whole point of this exercise is to use _everything_ you have! We must get to know each other's fighting style, and any secrets that come with it!" The battle-coordinator yelled, flicking her sleek black hair from her one good eye. "Do not hold back!"

"Come on Zidane! Kick his ass!" Cinna cheered, dancing around, beating on his bare stomach. "You're so much tougher than him!"

The genome didn't get cocky however, and when they finally jumped up to clash, he felt the strength of his opponent in the vibration of their steel weapons. In the freefall that Zidane had to assess the elf across from him, his eyes were drawn to his weapons.

The sharp blade was in the shape of a teardrop – one pointed end, though the steel was sharp on every edge. There was a wooden bar in the middle where the user could grip it, and if he swung his arms in just the correct way, he wouldn't cut himself, but had a three hundred and sixty degree range of dangerous slicing.

"Your dagger is _nothing_ against my mighty chakrams!" The elf called, taunting and grinning.

Through the dirt they had kicked up from their slide-landing, Zidane grinned. "They're pretty sweet… But it's not about the weapon –" before he finished, he shot forward again, even faster than last time.

Unfortunately, the elf's eyesight was too good, and he dodged with just enough time. He threw his arm up, and brought it back down, hoping to catch Zidane on the arm. But it surprised him when the blonde twisted around, tossing his Dagger to his _tail_, that wrapped around the handle, and guarded from the attack.

"-It's about who _uses_ it!" He laughed. While his tail still held one chakram in place, he sprung back on his hands, and broke contact quickly, sending the weapon spiraling into the dirt.

The elf tried in vain to pull it out, too preoccupied with offense to remember his defense when Zidane slid in under him, using the bar of his opponent's grounded chakram as support as he kicked upward, sending him flying through the air. With quick thinking, he went into a one-handed hand stand, still clutching the bar, before flipping back up to his feet, tearing the weapon from the dirt. He sent it gliding towards the elf, where it re-lodged itself in the ground, only inches from his head.

"Lamien!" A woman yelled, her own sharp ears pricking at the sound of his gasp as she pushed forward, collapsing next to him. "Are you alright?" She helped him into a sitting position; he looked unharmed, but still a bit shaken.

"I have never _seen_ someone use my weapon against me like that!" He gawked as he stood, before moving closer to Zidane before bowing.

"Whoa!" Zidane put his hands up in the universal _stop_ signal, before shaking his hands hastily. "There's no need to _bow_ to me man! I bet if we would have kept going, you would have come back!"

The elf blinked in surprise, as though he'd never had an opponent say something of the sort to him before. A smirk overtook his features and his hand extended. "Thank you for a fine fight, Zidane."

"No problem Lamien! Any time you want a rematch, just let me know!" The genome nodded and began moving back, before Lysandra called out, stopping him.

"You move on to the next round, Zidane! But, because in real life you won't get a break from enemies, it's going to start in two minutes!"

"Two minutes? Just who am I fighting in _two_ minutes?"

"Who else, than our two best swordsmen?"

"Two?" Zidane gawked. "Who –" Lysandra only jerked her head towards him, telling him to turn around.

Quickly, the genome whipped in the other direction, and his eyes widened. "I'm fighting _both_ of them?!"

"Why? Afraid you're going to lose?" Beatrix flipped her hair over her shoulder. "You haven't forgotten that we're the best, have you Zidane?" She laughed, her sudden cold confidence that he hadn't seen in a _long_ time, surfacing again.

"I think he has…" Steiner laughed, unsheathing his sword, his eyes hardening on the blonde. "I thought he'd be more frightened."

"You've got to be kidding me…" Zidane mumbled, taking an intimidated step back.

"Begin!" Lysandra yelled suddenly, and before her ringing voice had finally faded, Beatrix and Steiner shot off like a rocket, swords both drawn, ready to show the dreamer their _true_ potential as a team.

* * *

**A/N: So kind of a weird place to end the chapter I know, but I thought this would be really fun to do to show you guys kind of what their training might be like.**

**I hope that chapter wasn't sloppy… To me it kind of seems like it was, but I **_**did**_** write parts of it half asleep. I hope you guys were able to bare with it though!**

**Leave me some love!**

**-zesty-**


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